Demand for Release/Review of ALL Ohio Inmates sentenced prior to July 1, 1996

To:  Ohio Legislators and Governor Robert Taft

Demand for Release/Review of ALL Ohio Inmates sentenced prior to July 1, 1996


To: Governor Taft and Ohio Legislators

DEMAND THAT A MASTER BE APPOINTED TO SUPERVISE ALL OHIO PAROLE BOARD ACTIVITIES AND DECISIONS.

DEMAND FOR THE IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF ALL 5000 PLUS INMATES THAT ARE CURRENTLY BEING HELD BY THE OHIO PAROLE BOARD FOR "REHEARING" DUE TO THE "LAYNE DECISION."

DEMAND FOR THE RELEASE OF 6,500 PLUS INMATES WHO ARE CURRENTLY INCARCERATED AND WERE SENTENCED PRIOR TO SB2 THAT ARE DEEMED "MODEL" PRISONERS BY THE DEPARTMENT OF REHABILITATION AND CORRECTIONS (0 – 1 HISTORY RISK SCORE.)

DEMAND FOR THE REVIEW OF 8,000 PLUS INMATES WHO ARE CURRENTLY INCARCERATED AND WERE SENTENCED PRIOR TO SB2 FOR POSSIBLE COMMUNITY SANCTIONS OR RELEASE.

To: Governor Robert Taft

From: Ohio Taxpayers

In July of 1996, Senate Bill 2 was enacted and drastically changed the sentencing laws in Ohio from indefinite sentences to definite sentences. SB2 allows for the eventual elimination of the Ohio Parole Board.

Ohio has approximately 19,500 "old law" inmates subject to the Ohio Parole Board’s "discretionary" powers. The total cost of incarceration required by the Trial Court is $2.8 billion dollars; however, due to the "discretionary" powers of the parole board to add time over and above the trial court’s minimum sentence, the overall cost of incarceration of these "old law" inmates has been inflated to $7.5 billion dollars. The Ohio Parole Board is costing Ohio Taxpayers $4.7 billion dollars.

The disparities between the "old law" and the "new law" sentences are excessive! Old law inmates are being held by the Ohio Parole Board on average of 10 years OVER their trial court minimums and are serving on average 358% MORE time than their "new law" counterparts.

All of these "old law" inmates have served their "minimum" trial court sentence and much more time than inmates sentenced under the "new law" for similar crimes. Ohio’s budget is drained from this excessive cost of incarceration.

Continuing to tax Ohioians, continuing to cut school funding, continuing to cut healthcare amd mental retardation funding is NOT the answer to our budget woes. Stop the overspending by the Ohio Parole Board.

We are demanding that new legislation be imposed IMMEDIATELY to allow for the release/review of all Ohio inmates sentenced prior to July 1, 1996 (SB2).

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

The Demand for Release/Review of ALL Ohio Inmates sentenced prior to July 1, 1996 Petition to Ohio Legislators and Governor Robert Taft was created by Ohio Freedom Facts and written by Jenny L. Warwick.  This petition is hosted here at www.PetitionOnline.com as a public service. There is no endorsement of this petition, express or implied, by Artifice, Inc. or our sponsors. For technical support please use our simple Petition Help form.

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