Ohio prison sentencing is studied

COLUMBUS - A report released Monday reinforced what Ohio already knew: that it's spending millions to imprison nonviolent inmates who won't be there long enough to benefit from treatment and other rehabilitation programs.

But Sen. Bill Seitz (R., Cincinnati) said he hopes the independent study by the Justice Center for the Council of State Governments will be enough to jump-start a bill that has been jailed in the Republican-controlled Senate longer than many of the inmates it points to will be in state prison.

"For too many lower-level offenders, to be remanded to state prison for a very brief stay is simply a short course in crime university, because they are then exposed to higher-level offenders," he said.

The report appears to support the concept behind some of the sentencing reforms sought last year by Gov. Ted Strickland that were largely placed on the back burner after the federal government eased the state's immediate financial strain by providing one-time stimulus funding for corrections. The issue, however, is likely to be dusted off soon, either during lame-duck session after the Nov. 2 election or when lawmakers begin debate on a new two-year budget next spring. The next budget, which would take effect July 1, could be as much as $8 billion out of balance as the federal aid expires.

Senate Bill 22, sponsored by Mr. Seitz, is aimed at easing future overcrowding by diverting more low-level inmates to community alternatives like electronic monitoring and drug treatment, allowing some inmates to shave more time off their sentences by participating in prison education and treatment programs, and raising the dollar-value thresholds that turn a misdemeanor theft charge into a felony.

Ernie L. Moore, director of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, said about 50,800 inmates are in the state prison system, 33 percent more that what it was designed to hold.

"We are projecting by the year 2018 to have over 53,000 offenders incarcerated in our prisons," he said. "You can either build more prisons to house those types of offenders, or … you become more overcrowded than what you are."

The report was requested by Gov. Strickland, legislative leaders, and the Ohio Supreme Court.

Among findings, the study stated Ohio already had many necessary community tools, such as halfway houses, mental health treatment, and drug and alcohol treatment. But local systems are so disconnected that results vary and are difficult to measure.

It noted the number of people on probation here increased by more than a third from 194,875 in 2000 to 260,962 in 2008, more than in any other Midwest state.

"The problem in Ohio is the large number of … low-level, drug offenders mainly, coming in and out of prisons, not staying there long enough for them to benefit from any correctional programs, and consuming about $189 million a year of prison space," said Tony Fabelo, Justice Center research director. "The idea is to find strategies to deal with them more effectively by better targeting programs already in place."

Contact Jim Provance at:

jprovance@theblade.com,

or 614-221-0496.