Ohio’s state prisons are jam packed with 50,561 people crammed into facilities designed to hold a maximum of 38,389 inmates. Previous attempts to correct the overcrowding and reduce spending have proven futile, according to a July 27, 2011 article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
But when he was elected governor, John Kasich ( R ) promised to lead a bi-partisan effort to implement sentencing reform, and both sides of the aisle, aware of the rising costs associated with incarceration, have backed him up.
When the governor signs the new law this week, low-level, non-violent offenders will be steered toward alternatives to incarceration programs, while others in that category will be released from prison earlier. The Ohio Legislative Commission and the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation, as reported by the Plain Dealer claims the new law:
• Allows the release of nonviolent felons who did not commit a sexually oriented offense if they have served more than 80 percent of a prison term of one year or more. First- and second- degree felons released under this provision would be put on parole and monitored with a GPS device.
• Increases the threshold -- from $500 to $1,000 -- for theft offenses to be considered a felony.
• Provides an alternative to prison for felony offenses for not paying child or spousal support.
• Eliminates the distinction between criminal penalties for drug offenses related to crack cocaine and powder cocaine. New punishments for cocaine offenses reflect a middle ground between the two current penalties.
• Expands an earned credit system in which inmates can shave days off their sentences. Certain prisoners could earn up to five days of credit per month for completing education and rehabilitation programs. The old system permitted only one day of credit per month. Sex offenders and violent felons would not be able to shorten their terms, and no prisoner could reduce a sentence by more than 8 percent.
• Requires the state's prisons system to review the cases of inmates who are 65 or older and eligible for parole -- paving the way for a new parole hearing and possible release.
These sweeping measures have been lauded by both parties as necessary steps to cleaning up an overcrowded prison system that sapped money, time and resources from the state. The new law, however, is not without its critics. Senator Jim Hughes ( R - Columbus) believes public safety will be compromised by the release of so many inmates. John Murphy, the executive director of the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association, takes exception to the new law, claiming it is a travesty that scorns previous sentencing laws. Still others worry about where the newly released will go, and if there are enough resources available to keep them from recidivating.
Governor Kasich has a different outlook. Kasich asserts that the new sentencing reform laws will actually foster public safety by connecting low-level offenders with alternative to incarceration programs, and encouraging inmates to take part in prison programs designed to help them transition back to their communities easier.
Sources: The Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and the Ohio State Legislature
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