This panel will
explore recent criminal justice developments–both legislative and
initiative–defining the landscape for future reform efforts. We will discuss
among other topics, the federal FIRST STEP Act (Formerly Incarcerated Reenter
Society Transformed Safely Transitioning Every Person Act), which could soon be
passed by Congress, and Ohio’s Ballot Issue 1 which voters recently rejected by
a significant margin. The federal FIRST STEP Act, which received overwhelming
bipartisan support in a House vote this past summer, focuses on correctional
reform but has been criticized by reform advocates for not including
significant sentencing reform provisions. Ohio’s Issue 1, a proposed amendment
to the Ohio constitution, sought to reduce incarceration levels by reducing
drug possession offenses to misdemeanors and by increasing prisoner
opportunities for earned-time sentence reductions, with prison savings to be
earmarked for drug treatment, crime victim, and rehabilitation programs.