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Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
ACLU report warns that Ohio lawmakers are adding to prison population in big and small ways
(File photo of a prison by) Ohio's jail and prison population continues to swell, the ACLU of Ohio says, thanks to 'mass incarceration by 1,000 cuts.' The civil rights group's Statehouse-to-Prison Pipeline report highlights legislation introduced in the previous General Assembly that's likely to increase the number of people behind bars. It's the fifth such report the group has published. ACLU Chief Lobbyist Gary Daniels said over that ten year stretch more than 500 measures expanding incarceration have been filed and 76 of those have become law. 'I started with the ACLU of Ohio back in 1995,' he said. 'Our prisons were overcrowded then. Here we are 30 years later, and they remain above capacity.' According to the report, Ohio's prisons were built to house roughly 37,000 people, but as of December 2024, there were 45,490 people behind bars, or more than 120% of capacity. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Lawmakers filed nearly 80 proposals in the last General Assembly that create a new criminal offense, enhance the punishment for an existing one, or expand the scope of who can be charged. The ACLU classifies these as pipeline bills. Of those, the governor signed 14 into law. Daniels explained those measures operate on two tracks — the micro and the macro. But both contribute to mass incarceration. On the macro side, he pointed to House Bill 230, which after failing last session has returned as House Bill 88. The bill increases drug trafficking penalties with a specific emphasis on fentanyl. 'It's not a popular bill to oppose,' Daniels acknowledged. 'We get that.' 'The legislators are absolutely right and correct to be concerned about and searching for solutions and a way out of this,' he argued. But increasing penalties in 27 areas while adding more mandatory minimums isn't the right approach with an already overburdened prison system. At the same time that lawmakers advance wide-ranging sentencing changes they also regularly file narrower knee-jerk-reaction bills. 'Certain issues make the headlines and boom, all of a sudden, you've got legislation to address it,' Daniels described. 'In Ohio this most recent legislative session,' Daniels continued, 'it was catalytic converter thefts and increasing the penalties for that. It was increasing penalties for retail thefts, assaults on sports officials and referees.' The share of bills filed each session that would increase incarceration is relatively small. In the most recent General Assembly, the 79 pipeline bills represented just 7.5% of the total. The 14 signed into law account for only 1.3%. But with the added dimension of time, Daniels argued, those proposals pile up, and they have a meaningful impact on prison populations. When lawmakers see a problem, they often respond by increasing punishments. But understanding how their limited provision on catalytic converters fits into a broader program of mass incarceration isn't always obvious. 'Term limits are certainly a factor here,' Daniels said. 'They learn this over time,' he explained. 'And sometimes you get people who are well positioned to make an impact and really start fundamentally getting this issue, and then they're right back out of office.' The consequences of that steady accumulation, Daniels said, show up in the state capital budget. 'You have counties and cities that have been lining up, quite literally at the Statehouse to get new and additional funding to both build new jails and to renovate existing jails,' he explained. In the last capital budget, lawmakers earmarked $50 million for local jails and more than $250 million for improvements to state prisons. The ACLU report also highlights some positive moves from lawmakers. One example was legislation reducing the use of driver's license suspensions as a form of punishment. Another directs state corrections officials to help those preparing for reentry to get documents, like a Social Security card, birth certificate or ID card, they'll need to get a job. But even these bright spots are bittersweet. Lawmakers continue to 'address the back end of this problem,' Daniels explained. 'What are we doing with people already in prison, in jail, in the criminal legal system instead of looking at, and making those efforts, and turning that focus to can we keep them from getting there in the first place?' Follow Ohio Capital Journal Reporter Nick Evans on X or on Bluesky. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ohio bill would require a state-approved historical document in every classroom
Mar. 12—In what's framed as a bid to expand students' grasp on history, the Ohio Senate Education Committee is considering a bill that would mandate the display of at least one state-approved historical document in every classroom in the state. The proposed list of documents within Senate Bill 34 includes: The Mayflower Compact; the Declaration of Independence; the Northwest Ordinance; the mottoes of the United States and of Ohio; the Magna Carta; the Bill of Rights; the United States Constitution; or the Articles of Confederation; and, controversially, the Ten Commandments. A school district would get to choose whichever document it wants, however, S.B. 34 would require a written explanation of the document's historical importance to accompany each display. "The reason for this bill is to expose our students to the documents which have, in America, served as the backbone of our legal and moral tradition, as a people," bill sponsor Sen. Terry Johnson, R-McDermott, told the committee in February, framing each of the documents as foundational to American government. The bill sponsor called it "inexcusable" that public schools haven't placed more focus on these documents and argued that it has denied students "the vital legal and moral essence that our children need to thrive as good American citizens." On Tuesday, opponents to the bill offered a different perspective, including ACLU of Ohio Chief Lobbyist Gary Daniels, who said S.B. 34's inclusion of the Ten Commandments made the bill a "plainly obvious attempt to impose explicit religious beliefs and practices on young, captive audiences in our public schools." "There is no way to secularize or dilute this language to strip it of its religious significance," said Daniels, who told the committee that the ACLU of Ohio would not oppose the bill if the Ten Commandments were taken off the list. Andrea Pagoda, a Jewish resident of Delaware County who testified in opposition to the bill, raised the question of which Ten Commandments school boards could pick, given that there are slight variations in Catholic, Protestant and Jewish renditions. "Posting the Ten Commandments favors one particular religious tradition as a source of inspiration and guidance in violation of the separation of church and state," she argued. Proponents of the bill — of which all have so far been religious — argued that the Ten Commandments are indeed central to the founding fathers. "The Ten Commandments are important to our religious and legal systems because they serve as a moral and ethical foundation," said Monty Lobb, executive director of the Christian Business Partnership, a division of the Center for Christian Virtue. "Obviously, they guide millions who practice Judaism and Christianity in their relationship with God and others. But let's not lose sight of or downplay the Ten Commandments' significant role in influencing a moral framework that has established fundamental principles of virtue like honesty, respect, and justice that appeal to many cultures." Monuments Outside of the display requirement, S.B. 34 would also grant schools the authority to erect a monument inscribed with "one or more of the documents on any school ground or premises," according to a nonpartisan analysis. Logistically, some of these documents would be easier to inscribe than others. Shortest on the list is America's and Ohio's mottoes — "In God We Trust" and "With God, All Things Are Possible," respectively. The Ten Commandments and the Mayflower Compact have about 200 words apiece, while the Bill of Rights has about 460 words. All other listed documents have more than 1,000 words. Who pays for it? Both the in-class displays and the monuments could be paid for under S.B. 34 by community organizations willing to donate funds. Those same organizations could donate the displays or monuments themselves, which Daniels argued would open the door widest for churches. "You see, passage of S.B. 34 is only the first step for many S.B. 34 supporters. Pass this bill, and they will focus their energy and resources on school districts across Ohio, demanding they choose the Ten Commandments as one of the documents for display, or perhaps the only one," Daniels said. Johnson, meanwhile, told the committee that the bill was written that way because "it is essential that the displays are funded and promoted by the communities themselves, having a say in what gets displayed in their schools." ------ For more stories like this, sign up for our Ohio Politics newsletter. It's free, curated, and delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday evening. Avery Kreemer can be reached at 614-981-1422, on X, via email, or you can drop him a comment/tip with the survey below.
