News From Terre Haute, Indiana

Breaking News

Indiana Legislature

July 24, 2011

STATE OF THE STATEHOUSE: Legislators charged with overhauling Indiana’s criminal code

INDIANAPOLIS — Some of the heaviest lifting that will go on in the Statehouse this summer will be done by two groups of legislators with the unenviable task of overhauling Indiana’s criminal code.

The premise of their work is this: that in the 34 years since Indiana’s laws were revised to make them simpler to understand and easier to wield to protect public safety, session after session of tough-on-crime legislators have loaded them up with burdensome penalties that are sending more Hoosiers to prison.

Two separate summer study committees of legislators are divvying up the task, with a somewhat more specific goal in mind. Their real aim is to figure out how to keep Indiana’s prison population from topping out and requiring the state to build a billion-dollar prison or two.

Some sweeping legislation that would have reduced or eliminated prison time for committers of low-level crime didn’t get very far in the last legislative session. Prosecutors got blamed. Their concentrated efforts to derail legislation that would have reduced penalties for some drug and property crimes was effective in its appeal to lawmakers who don’t want to be accused of being “soft on crime.”

But like most things in the Statehouse, it was more complicated than that. Prosecutors also feared they’d lose the leverage they need to make the plea deals that keep crowded court dockets from exploding into sheer chaos.

Unlike on TV, most people charged with a crime don’t get a jury trial. They have lawyers who negotiate plea agreements with prosecutors, often copping a guilty plea to a lesser crime than what they were charged with. It’s not perfect justice, but it does make the system move a little more swiftly.

State Sen. Richard Bray, the Republican chairman of the legislature’s Commission on the Courts, has some sympathy for the prosecutors’ plight as well as the political pushback that comes with tampering with anything crime-related.

Bray said in his former life as a county prosecutor, he would charge criminals with the crime of “auto banditry.” In 1921, the Indiana legislature created it as a new crime, carrying a maximum of 25 years in prison. It made it a crime to use an automobile, motorcycle, airplane or other “self-moving conveyance” to flee from the scene of a crime. Birthed in the era of gangsters and getaway cars, it was used to help put John Dillinger in prison.

Bray said he used the charge and its heavy sentence to put the squeeze on defendants. “I’d get them to plead guilty by intimidation,” Bray said.

He’s a realist about how tough the task will be to rewrite Indiana’s criminal code. Bray’s recollection of how it was revamped in 1977 involves two legislators who sat down in a back room and knocked out a new code in about three days time. He doubts if it will be that simple this time around.

Maureen Hayden is Statehouse bureau chief for CNHI Indiana newspapers. She can be reached at maureen.hayden@indianamediagroup.com.

Text Only | Photo Reprints
Indiana Legislature
Latest News
Community Calendar
Loading…
Events by eviesays.com
TribStar.com Poll
AP Video
Raw: Fierce Bombing in Qusair, Syria Fatal Hot Air Balloon Accident in Turkey Tornadoes, Storms Strike Midwest RAW: TV Staff Take Cover From Tornado Raw: Accused US Spy Reportedly Leaves Russia Raw: Swarm of Tornadoes Slams Plains 'Babyland': Camp Lejeune's Toxic Legacy? Raw: Heavy Tornado Damage in Shawnee, Okla AP CEO: Records Seizure 'Unconstitutional' Raw: Tornadoes Spotted in Kansas Today in History for May 20th Commuters Face Delays After Conn. Train Accident Raw: Gun Scare Mars Cannes Film Festival Coffee Run Leads to Hatchet Hitchhiker Arrest Probe Begins After Conn. Commuter Trains Crash Today in History for May 19th Raw: Driver Ejected From Truck, Over Bridge Obama Exhorts Good Deeds by Morehouse Graduates Analyst: Tumblr Fills Void in Yahoo's Offerings NTSB Begins Investigation Into Conn. Train Crash
NDN Video
Oklahoma tornado survivor: "Everything is gone" Oklahoma Tornado caught by Storm Chasers Khloe Lashes Out at Kim Kardashian's Critics RAW: Russian dash cam catches car 20 feet in the air Couple Argues As Woman's Lover Crawls Out Window RAW: Brad Paisley Forgets Lyrics To His Own Song Justin Bieber Gets Booed RAW: TV Staff Take Cover From Tornado New 'Anchorman 2' Trailer, Drake Joins List of Rumored Cameos Eva Longoria's Wardrobe Malfunction Heat Star Dwyane Wade Surprises Coral Gables Teen At Prom Steak n' Shake waitress scores huge tip Singer Miguel Accidentally Lands on Fan At Billboard Music Awards Celebs Celebrate the Rise of the Side Butt Grizzly bear gets up close and personal with camera Justin Bieber Gets Booed After Winning at the Billboard Awards Tornadoes, Storms Strike Midwest Singer forgets lyrics, makes up words to National Anthem Who is $600M Powerball winner in Fla.? Top 5 Plays of the Day
Parade
Magazine

Click HERE to read all your Parade favorites including Hollywood Wire, Celebrity interviews and photo galleries, Food recipes and cooking tips, Games and lots more.
  • -

     

    March 12, 2010

activity
Real Estate News