A report finds that nearly one of every 10 bills introduced by Ohio lawmakers during the last legislative session were criminal justice-related and at odds with efforts to reduce the state's prison population.
The American Civil Liberties Union Ohio chapter conducted the review, part of an ongoing analysis. The “Statehouse to Prison Pipeline report" found that 9.4% of all introduced bills either created new crimes, enhanced existing sentences, or expanded current criminal laws.
Gary Daniels is the ACLU-Ohio's chief lobbyist. He says while there are no "truly bad, big bills" coming out of this session, none of the nearly 1,200 bills produced dealth with COVID-19.
Daniels said Wednesday that the problem of crowded prisons begins at the Statehouse and lawmakers should refrain from passing so many crime-related bills.