News From Terre Haute, Indiana

Local & Bistate

Discussion

Welcome to our online comments feature. We welcome your thoughts and your opinions, including unpopular ones. We ask only that you keep the conversation civil and clean. We reserve the right to remove comments that are obscene, racist or abusive and statements that are false or unverifiable as well as posts that are attacking other users. Repeat offenders will be blocked. You may flag objectionable comments for review by a moderator.
comments powered by Disqus
August 18, 2012

Report recommends overhaul of Indiana's criminal code

Maureen Hayden CNHI

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana's criminal code may be in for some sweeping changes, including more levels of felonies, tougher penalties for the worst sex and violent crimes, and less prison time for low-level drug crimes.

A 375-page report, crafted at the direction of the legislature, calls for overhauling the state's criminal laws to make punishment more proportionate to the crime.

The report, submitted in late July to the state's Criminal Code Evaluation Commission, is likely to be the framework for major legislation in the next session and the impetus for reviving the sentencing reform effort that died last year.

Among the changes recommended that reflect concerns about the disproportionate penalties in the current code: Possessing three grams of cocaine within 1,000 feet of a school yard would no longer carry a harsher penalty than rape.

The report is the work product of a group of prosecutors, public defenders and other attorneys who were assigned by the commission to take a comprehensive look at the state's criminal code. The working group was lead by Deborah Daniels, a former U.S. Attorney and the sister of Gov. Mitch Daniels.

Indiana's criminal code hasn't been revised since 1977 and since then, the Indiana General Assembly has added a lot more crimes with much stiffer sentences, but did so in a piecemeal fashion.

Criminal Code Evaluation Commission chairman Ralph Foley said legislators who took a “tough on crime” approach in the past did so without considering the escalating costs of locking up more offenders or making sure there were like penalties for like crimes.

“The Indiana constitution requires proportionality,” Foley said.

The recommendations in the report are sweeping, but only cover felony crimes. It doesn't address the state's traffic laws nor does it proscribe specific penalty ranges.

But it does strongly recommend that Indiana broaden the levels of felonies, moving from its current four levels to six levels. That change would allow prosecutors and judges to better sort out the seriousness of crimes and the penalties they carry. A person convicted of causing “serious bodily injury” to a victim during a burglary could be charged at a higher level – and face more prison time – than a person convicted of causing less serious injury to a victim during a burglary.

Another major change: A felony theft charge would be based on the value of the object stolen. Currently, a prosecutor can charge a felony theft no matter the stolen item's value. The report recommends Indiana follow other states by creating a theft “threshold”: a stolen item would have to be worth $750 before a prosecutor could bring a class D felony charge.

The report recommends increasing the penalties for the worst sex offenders, and for offenders who are violent, who use weapons, or repeatedly commit the same kind of crime. The report also recommends the elimination of an “early release” program that allowed a convicted sex offender to reduce his eight-year sentence to less than two years by earning a college degree while in prison.

Andrew Cullen, an attorney with the Indiana Public Defender Council and a member of the working group that wrote the report, said there are some recommendations in the report where prosecutors and public offenders didn't agree. “But the members of the committee agreed on the vast majority of recommendations made on the crimes we evaluated,” Cullen said.

State Sen. Randy Head, a Republican from Logansport and former prosecutor who sits on the Criminal Code Evaluation Commission said the report is still a “working document” that needs to be reviewed and approved by commission members. But Head, who'd opposed the 2011 sentencing reform effort in part because it failed to address violent crimes, said the wide-ranging scope of this latest report is a good sign.

“We may not agree with all the recommendations,” Head said. “But the report gives us a more comprehensive look at the problem.”



Maureen Hayden covers the Statehouse for the CNHI newspapers in Indiana. She can be reached at maureen.hayden@indianamediagroup.com.

 

Text Only | Photo Reprints
Local & Bistate
Latest News
Community Calendar
Loading…
Events by eviesays.com
TribStar.com Poll
AP Video
NM Mom Chases Down Child Abductor Raw: Crash Sends Car Into Fla. Pool Raw: Obama Sits Down With Elementary Kids Dying Man's Blinks Lead to Murder Conviction Wash. State Releases Draft Rules for Legal Pot Raw: Driver Ejected From Truck, Over Bridge Wind Energy Push Leaves Trail of Dead Eagles Raw: Germany Protestors Picket Barbie House Horse Saved From Slaughter, Goes on to Win Big Ousted IRS Chief: Errors Not Caused by Politics Music Therapy Bonds Parents and Preemies Terror Suspect Due in Court in Idaho Friday Tensions As Israel Targets Syria in Airstrikes Fmr. IRS Head Insists No Politics in Targeting Raw: Spacewalking Astronauts Hope to Stop Leak Obama: 'Couldn't Be Prouder' of Jason Collins Raw: Bear Falls From Tampa Tree Officials Arrest Man in Idaho in Terrorism Case Today in History, May 6th Raw: Child, Stroller Falls Onto Pa. Train Tracks
NDN Video
Lotto Fever Sweeps the Country Coffee Stop Leads To Arrest Of YouTube Sensation Wanted For Murder Bearded Dragon Reunited With Owner Marine Reunited with Warzone Companion Raw: Crash Sends Car Into Fla. Pool Beyonce Is Pregnant! SF baseball player overpaid $500,000 RETURNS money -- and team says KEEP IT $1 Million in Jewels Stolen at Cannes Film Fest Dad returns from Afghanistan, surprises family during Rays' first pitch See Jennifer Lopez's New $10m Hamptons Mansion Woman tricked into taking abortion pill Emma Watson Goes Pantless IRS scandal: Republicans seek to tie Obama to agency's woes Play of the Day: Flipping to Safety Pregnant Kim Kardashian Squeezes Her Swollen Feet Into Stilettos Top Videos of the Week: Angry Taco Bell Guy, Glacier Moves on House, Dog Hates Baths Cindy Crawford Stuns At Cannes Raw: Marines Come to Obama's Aid in the Rain CUTE: Monkey shares lollipop with dog, then HITS pooch on head with it Miranda Kerr Looks Sexy in a Bikini Photo Shoot
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