ohio is on the move All states need to follow suite

[The Streets Don't Love You Back]

Ohio Sentencing Reform - a Little Common Sense Where a Lot Is Needed

Andrew Grant Thomas, WOSU Commentator (2011-07-27)

COLUMBUS, OH (wosu) - Backed by strong bipartisan support in the Ohio legislature, Governor Kasich just signed a solid sentencing reform bill into law. Woo-hoo!

The law allows judges to shunt some non-violent offenders into halfway houses rather than prisons, permits the possibility of early parole for other non-violent offenders, and allows some inmates to slice more days off their sentences by completing education and rehab programs.

The main point is to save money by devoting more resources to rehabilitating people who pose little risk to public safety. Governor Kasich says the law is just common sense. And he's right.

But the truth is that the new sentencing law is only a meek step in the right direction. With respect to cost, public safety, and basic human decency, we can and should do better. Here are two easy ways.

First, the new law calls for prisons to review the cases of senior citizens eligible for parole to see if they may be suitable for early release. Smart move. Older inmates are less likely to commit crimes post-release and cost the prison system a ton in medical care.

But how about lowering the age that triggers possible parole review from 65 to 55 for non-violent offenders? The US Department of Justice found that former felons over the age of 45 were half as likely to repeat-offend within 3 years of release as those in their early-20's. For those 55 and older the likelihood of re-offending would be even less and the medical costs saved even more.

Second, the law offers almost no help to former inmates moving back into the community. This is tragically short-sighted. Ohio imposes some 400 so-called "collateral sanctions" on former prisoners AFTER they've done their time. A few make sense -- we don't want former inmates w/drug abuse problems working in pharmacies, for example. But most sanctions make no sense at all.

We're talking about limits on employment and occupational licensing, drivers license suspensions, lack of access to public housing and other public services, and more.

So, in effect, we take adults without high school degrees in most cases, or good jobs skills and experience, saddle them with criminal records, AND THEN pile on more barriers to their making it on the outside. No driver's license means no car means no job in lots of places in Ohio. We need to sift thru all those 400 sanctions and get rid of the ones that hurt rather than help.

The law is a start. With so many politicians scared of being called "soft on crime," it's nice to see our elected officials act courageously to support sensible, reality-based sentencing policy. I hope they realize that their work has only just begun.