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Monday, December 19, 2011
Ind. Gov't. - Gov. Daniels will not pursue sentencing reform this year
That is the word from Eric Bradner, reporting Sunday in the Evansville Courier & Press:
When Gov. Mitch Daniels rolled out his 2012 legislative agenda on Friday, one familiar item was missing: criminal sentencing reform.The Republican governor has pursued changes to the state's laws, especially when it comes to sentences for drug and theft crimes.
He wants "graduated" sentencing, which would shift low-level offenders into community-based programs, while saving the money the state might otherwise have to spend on new prison construction.
Daniels omitted criminal sentencing reform from his agenda though, he said, because of political obstacles he doesn't think he can work around.
"I'm not as optimistic as I am about these other items. Complete agreement has proved elusive. I've worked on it some this last year, and I just can't report success yet with one critical group," Daniels said.
The group to which he was referring consists of county prosecutors, who have resisted his efforts.
"If we have a breakthrough, I still think it'd be a very useful thing for Indiana to do," Daniels said. "But in all honesty, I think it's less likely than these other items."
Posted by Marcia Oddi on December 19, 2011 10:20 AM
Posted to Indiana Government