American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio

Criminal Justice

Reform Cannot Wait.

This is the message we need to send to the leaders of the Ohio General Assembly, who time and again have failed to reform our broken criminal justice system.

Please contact Senate President Bill Harris at (614) 466-8086 or via email at SD19@senate.state.oh.us and ask him, as leader of the Senate, to bring to a vote Senate Bill 22, a bill that proposes modest reforms to Ohio’s criminal justice system.

Please let us know when you have contacted Sen. Harris and if you receive a response. We can be reached at (216) 472-2200 or contact@acluohio.org.

Senate Bill 22

Senate Bill 22 proposes modest reforms. It was passed by the Senate Criminal Justice Committee in June 2009 and is still awaiting a Senate floor vote. SB 22 would address Ohio's overcrowded prison system by:

increasing the number of days prisoners can earn each month towards early release;
eliminating the crack-cocaine sentencing disparity;
eliminating mandatory minimum sentences for many low-level drug crimes;
increasing diversion programs for low-level drug offenders in lieu of conviction;
raising the threshold used in determining penalties in theft-related crimes;
providing diversion programs for child support violators.

Resources

Reform Cannot Wait: A Comprehensive Examination of the Cost of Incarceration in Ohio, 2010, published by the ACLU of Ohio

Justice Reinvestment in Ohio: Analyses of Crime, Community Corrections, and Sentencing Policies, 2010, published by the Council of State Governments

The Cost of Incarceration, View the webcast of this discussion of criminal justice reform featuring Terry Collins, former director of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections; Shakyra Diaz, education director for the ACLU of Ohio, and Edward Little, criminal justice consultant.

Check out additional webcasts of past ACLU events focusing on criminal justice issues.

Learn more about the ACLU of Ohio’s work to reform the criminal justice system.