Reviewing notable criminal justice reform developments in (red) Ohio

I have long talked up criminal justice developments in Ohio because the state has long been a considered a bellwether for national developments.  But thanks to gerrymandering of state legislative district and other recent developments, Ohio is perhaps now more properly viewed as a red state.  Stiil, the political reality that Ohio's General Assembly is now GOP-heavy arguably make recent progessive criminal justice reforms in the Buckeye state even more noteworthy.  This new local article, headlined "Ohio makes big leaps forward on criminal justice changes," effectively reports on recent significant legislative action in this area, and here are excerpts:

Advocates for criminal justice reforms scored multiple wins in the closing weeks of 2020 that they say will give thousands of Ohioans a second chance.  Gov. Mike DeWine signed half a dozen bills into laws that will take effect later this year. The potential impacts are sweeping.

Incarcerated pregnant women will no longer be shackled to hospital beds as they deliver their babies.  Poor people will be able to perform community service as a way to get their driver’s licenses back instead of paying huge fees.  Ohioans who made mistakes will have an easier time getting professional licenses to advance their careers.  People suffering from serious mental illnesses at the time of the crime will not be executed. Teens who commit terrible crimes will serve their time but will still have the hope of making parole someday. 

And House Bill 1 will allow Ohioans in the throes of addiction to get drug treatment instead of a criminal record.  DeWine called House Bill 1 the most significant among the recent criminal justice reforms.  “There is a broad consensus in this country that people who commit crimes — non-violent offenses — because of the fact that they’re an addict, we all want to see them succeed.  We want them to get clean, stay clean and be good members of society,” said DeWine, a former Greene County prosecutor and state attorney general.  “There is a broad consensus that if they can get clean and on a pathway, we don’t want to tag them with a felony conviction. So this makes sense.”...

Support for HB1 came from the right and left — Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor, ACLU of Ohio, the conservative Buckeye Institute, public defenders and prosecutors.  Other bills signed into law by DeWine will reduce the “collateral sanctions” — additional punishments that were popular with tough-on-crime lawmakers over the past several decades.  Such sanctions made it more difficult to get professional licensing, housing, student financial aid, driver’s licenses and more.  “Again, we have a broad consensus that we shouldn’t be having those.  Once a person has served their time or served their probation, probably they should be able to move on with their lives,” DeWine said....

Additional reform efforts in 2021 will likely focus on Ohio’s cash bail system, the death penalty, knocking down the number of collateral sanctions people face when they’re convicted, holding the Ohio Parole Board accountable and pushing for criminal drug sentencing changes, said [Kevin] Werner of the Ohio Justice and Policy Center.

Also, while several criminal justice bills made it across the finish line, a comprehensive package of changes in Senate Bill 3 failed to win final approval.  SB3 called for reducing certain felony drug offenses to misdemeanors.  Shakyra Diaz, state director of the Alliance for Safety and Justice, which lobbied for SB3, said Ohio families still need solutions to the addiction crisis and the alliance will continue to work with lawmakers.  “Giving felony convictions to Ohioans with addictions only makes the problem worse, and inaction is not an option as more families lose loved ones to addiction and overdoses because they needlessly cycle through the criminal justice system without getting treatment,” Diaz said.