This week there were mutliple hearings on bills dealing with the criminal legal system.

On the side of reform we saw bills to allow an offender to participate in programs while incarcerated to reduce the amount of time they spend incarcerated. There was also supposed to be a hearing on a bill to create an independent oversight office to inspect and hold accountable the department of corrections, but it was delayed. Next week we are expecting to see hearings on bills to restore voting rights to people who are no longer incarcerated but are still on probabtion or parole. Currently, people who have been convicted of a crime have their voting rights restored as soon as they are off-paper.

On the side of increased punishment, there are three bills running through the system that would lengthen the amount of time a person must spend incarcerated. The bill is being portrayed as a transparency measure that would provide certainty to victims of crimes about how long the offender will be incarcerated. In fact, the bill does nothing to increase certainty and instead just increases the minimum amount of time an offender will be incarcerated. In an time of over-crowding in our prisons, this is a terrible idea.

We will continue to monitor these issues and make sure that anything that gets passed into law will increase justice and not just increase punishment.

Please keep an eye on the tracking lists at the top of this page based on the area of law you are most concerned about. If you want to testify or visit the Capitol, send an email to sharon@jonesadvocacy.com to let us know so we can support your visit.