Clark County Sheriff, (and Exchangite), Debbie Burchett was our guest speaker at the noon Tuesday October 16, 2018 meeting of the Exchange Club of Springfield on the campus of Wittenberg University. The Sheriff was joined by Judge Moody as they spoke with passion against the proposed Issue One Amendment to the Ohio constitution.
A proposed constitutional amendment on November’s ballot would change sentencing guidelines for some drug crimes and affect other aspects of those crimes. A former Clark County addict who turned her life around after defeating her drug addiction says the ballot question is bad. Brittany King said she needed to go to jail to stay away from heroin and crack that was ruining her and her family’s life.
“I’m a recovering addict almost three years clean and I’ve been through multiple treatments and a lot of stuff, but I was sentenced to six months in jail and I got a chance to get out on (a) program. “Having that time to sit in jail, it really gave me the time to dry out, to think about what I was doing with my life and how I was hurting other people,” she said
Issue 1, a proposition that aims to reduce the incarceration rate in Ohio, would implement a number of changes for the way the state’s criminal justice system operates, including converting fourth- and fifth-degree felony drug possession and drug use crimes to misdemeanors with no jail time for first and second offenses committed within a 24-month period.
Other changes are:
• Prohibit judges from sending people to prison if they violate probation with something other than a new crime, such as missing an appointment
• Cut prison time for offenders who complete rehabilitation programs, except those convicted of murder, rape or child molestation
• Put money saved by fewer people going to prison into drug treatment and crime victim programs
• Allow people convicted of certain drug crimes to petition the court for re-sentencing or release or to have the charge changed.
The new proposed law would keep drug trafficking crimes as felonies.