Sweeping Changes to Ohio Criminal Sentencing Now in Effect

The need to reduce prison costs was the impetus for the largest major felony sentencing reform in Ohio in 15 years.  According to the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Fiscal Impact Statement, the total four year savings on incarceration costs will be 90 to 100 million dollars. “Under provisions of House Bill 86, inmates who complete education and other programs will be eligible to get out of prison early; some nonviolent drug offenders won’t go to prison at all; and property theft of less than $1,000 will no longer be a felony.”  Alan Johnson, Law Will Open Prison Doors for Thousands, Columbus Dispatch, Sept. 30, 2011.

Other changes include:

  • Parity in sentencing for powder cocaine and crack.
  • Review of prisoners 65 and older for possible release.
  • Revives preexisting consecutive sentencing language found unconstitutional by State v. Foster, but allowed to return in State v. Hodge.
  • Retooled the repeat violent offender language to be consistent with State v. Foster.
  • Replaces maximum and minimum sentencing language found unconstitutional by State v. Foster
  • Various changes to juvenile law, including a procedure for competency determinations in delinquency cases, a new procedure for reverse bindovers and a new mechanism for  judicial release for different time periods than allowed under previous law.

For a good explanation of the Foster related changes,  see the Ohio Sentencing Commission’s H.B. 86 Summary .  A list of juvenile law changes can be found at the Juvenile Coalition’s web site.

Also see the  Ohio Judicial Conference’s Judicial Impact Statement and Enactment News.   Ohio Capitol Connection contains hearing summaries indicating who testified for and against the legislation and what they said.