• 13
  • September
    2011

Governor Kasich's recent signature of House Bill 86 will ensure criminal-sentencing reforms that some commentators see as an end to two decades of harsh crime fighting policies that never achieved what they promised. The basic reasoning behind this view: strict and lengthy sentencing of defendants convicted of drug crimes and other nonviolent offenses are very costly to taxpayers, but fail to produce proportional benefits to society.

The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction estimates that the many reforms contained in the law will reduce the state inmate population by up to 7,000 in the next four years. That adds up to projected revenue savings of almost $50 million. Ohio's current prison population of over 50,000 exceeds design capacity by almost a third.

The law will reform sentencing in a variety of ways:

  • Some nonviolent offenders will be diverted to community service
  • Sentence reductions will be offered as incentives for completion of training programs and substance abuse or other treatment
  • Crack cocaine possession sentences will be reduced to match those for powder cocaine offenses
  • Prison officials must justify continued incarceration of elderly prisoners (65 or older)
  • Adult certification of juvenile offenders will be more closely regulated

Former Ohio Attorney General and state legislator Jim Petro, who was previously charged with enforcing Ohio's tough-on-crime crackdown, expressed relief to The Columbus Dispatch: "It didn't work then, and it isn't working now."

However, some commentators lamented that the new law fails to remove barriers to employment of ex-offenders, and some estimate that the cost benefit to Ohio taxpayers could have approached $80 million if the law had employed all provisions recommended by a thorough study of sentencing reform by the Council of State Governments.

Nevertheless, H.B. 86 will offer a great number of Ohio's convicted offenders opportunities for diversion, incentives and reduced sentencing. If you have questions about how H.B. 86 may affect you or a loved one, please contact an experienced Ohio criminal defense attorney for advice.