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Bipartisan Effort Launched To Update Ohio Crime Laws
By: Associated Press
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Lawmakers are teaming up with the Ohio prisons agency to announce a bipartisan effort to update the state’s criminal justice laws.
The announcement coming Wednesday is one of a series of efforts over the past few years to change how Ohio punishes offenders as a way of reducing the state’s bulging prison population.
Proposed legislation will be discussed by state Sen. John Eklund, a Republican from Geauga County in northeastern Ohio and Sen. Charleta Tavares, a Columbus Democrat.
The lawmakers will be joined by Gary Mohr, director of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, who’s long been a proponent of reducing the number of low-level offenders sent to prison.
Ohio currently houses about 50,200 inmates, or 130 percent over capacity.