Issue 1, according to the measure's text, was designed to reduce the number of people in state prisons for low-level, nonviolent crimes, such as drug possession and non-criminal probation violations.[6]
The initiative would make the possession, obtainment, and use of drugs no more than a misdemeanor, with sentences not exceeding probation for a first or second offense. Issue 1 would not change the classification of first-, second-, or third-degree drug-related felonies, such as the sale, distribution, or trafficking of drugs. The initiative would also allow individuals serving convictions higher than a misdemeanor for possession, obtainment, and use of drugs to petition the court for re-sentencing.[6]
Courts would be prohibited from ordering that persons on probation for felonies be sent to prison for non-criminal probation violations. The ballot initiative would require the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (DRC) to grant an inmate with sentence credits of 0.5 days for each day that the person participated in rehabilitative, work, or educational programs.[6]
The ballot initiative would require that state funds saved due to a reduction of inmates, resulting from the initiative's implementation, be spent on substance abuse treatment programs, crime victim programs, probation programs, graduated responses programs, and rehabilitation programs.[6]
Issue 1 would not be applied to individuals convicted of murder, rape, or child molestation.
Connect With Us