Columbus Dispatch...
Senate passes bill that sends fewer to prison
By Jim Siegel
Thursday, June 23, 2011 

What supporters called a “smart on crime” bill, a sweeping overhaul of Ohio’s criminal-sentencing laws, passed the Senate yesterday with strong bipartisan support. 

With the state prison system bursting at the seams and state leaders finding it ever-tougher to afford housing about 51,000 inmates, the Senate passed a bill designed to make greater use of community-based corrections programs and give inmates more opportunity to reduce their sentences through education, job training and drug treatment. 

“We made the bill stronger, gave courts more discretion and options, and yet retained the concept of trying to allow the criminal-justice system to differentiate between the serious criminal offender and those who are not guilty of violent crimes or sex crimes,” said Sen. Timothy J. Grendell, R-Chesterland. The measure would save the state an estimated $78 million annually on prison costs. A portion of those savings have been factored into the new two-year budget, which is set to pass next week. 

“If we do nothing, the prison population will continue to grow and we will be more challenged with building more prisons,” said Sen. Shirley Smith, D-Cleveland, noting that projections have the population exceeding 55,000 by 2018. 

Ohio’s prison system is designed to hold 38,000 inmates. 

Smith said much of the prison population growth is a result of nonviolent offenders held for short periods. 

“They are exiting without any solutions to prevent recidivism or seriously address their drug problem, mental illnesses or other criminal behavior.” 

House Bill 86 increases the threshold for felony theft to allow more low-level offenders to be placed in community-correction programs. It also gives the state more options in determining penalties for parolees who fail to report, creates new sentencing alternatives for people who fail to pay child support and aims to create treatment options as an alternative to prison time. 

Sen. Jim Hughes, R-Columbus, a former assistant county prosecutor and one of three Republicans to oppose the bill, said he is concerned about expanding the earned-credit program and other provisions that “I felt would result in more felons coming from prison before the conclusion of their sentence.” 

“Other states have put these people back out on the street and the crime rate has gone back up,” he said. “I think we’re jeopardizing public safety for this.” 

Hughes gave examples of where prosecutors would no longer have as much leverage to deal with lower-level offenders, including in sexual-battery cases. 

“Where is the incentive for someone to fear going to prison for Level 4 or 5 felonies? The presumption is that they will get probation. There is some mandatory drug offenses that were meant to protect the public that are now gone,” he said. 

The bill now goes back to the House, which will either agree with the Senate changes or send it to a conference committee. Speaker William G. Batchelder, R-Medina, said he still has to read the bill to absorb the changes. 

Grendell removed a provision yesterday opposed by child-welfare advocates that would have notified area school superintendents and law enforcement when a foster child found delinquent for a violent offense moves into the community. 

Read it at the Columbus Dispatch