On Friday, February 18, Marc Levin of Right On Crime spoke at the University of Toledo College of Law about corrections policy in the state of Ohio.  His PowerPoint presentation on Ohio corrections can be viewed here.

Levin’s presentation comes at the perfect time for Ohio.  As this article from the Toledo Free Press explains, new Republican Governor John Kasich has put criminal justice reform near the top of his priority list:

He said prison costs could be drastically reduced by rethinking whether non-violent offenders, including those who commit drug-related offenses, should be sent for short stays in state prison. Kasich said people who commit such crimes are not a public threat and shouldn’t be imprisoned at high cost to taxpayers alongside murderers.

He also said state prison also seems like the wrong place for child-support delinquents.

“Why do I want to put somebody that doesn’t pay child support in a state prison … instead of putting them somewhere and forcing them on a work detail or home confinement or county jail, in a place where the public is safe and yet we can get our costs?” he said. “To me, that’s low-hanging fruit.”

Recently, state Sen. Bill Seitz failed to get the necessary support to bring an overhaul of Ohio’s criminal sentencing laws up for a vote on the floor of the Republican-controlled Senate. The measure proposed cost-reducing measures such as imposing the same sentences for crack and powder cocaine offenses, expanding inmates’ ability to reduce their sentences through good behavior, and increasing use of halfway houses and GPS devices, as well as numerous other changes.”

Right On Crime previously mentioned Gov. Kasich’s interest in criminal justice reform here.