Indiana’s penal code is getting a makeover, removing some mandatory sentences that were added during decades of tough-on-crime policies.
The changes will take effect on July 1 and give judges more leeway in sentencing low-level, non-violent offenders.
In the last 10 years, the state’s prison population has increased by more than 40 percent, with annual costs projected to reach $1 billion a year in the next three years.
“It’s been a staggering increase in the prison population over the last decade, it’s been an exponential growth, not just in the state, but in the federal and the county jails, too, and that’s why the governor and the state legislators wanted to address this,” said chief deputy prosecutor Hal Johnston. “On average it costs between $23,000 and $30,000 per inmate per year.”
Johnston said the reform, which takes the four felony classes and turns them into six, will still target the same violations but the length of stay assigned in a prison or county jail could be changed.
“The crimes haven’t changed, this is something important to remember, the substantive crimes haven’t changed, the sentences have been changed,” he said. “The substantive law, the codes remain, what’s different now is how long they’ll be sentenced.”
One of the biggest changes will come to the sentencing for drug charges, some of which have been lowered to misdemeanors, while others have been strengthened.
“These are dramatic changes in the drug sentencing,” Johnston said. “Dealing, possession, manufacturing, these are all still serious crimes, the sentences however have, generally, lowered.
Another change to the drug culture for the state will be the addition of habitual offender violations and other enhancements, which could add between six and 20 years to a sentence.
“The argument was first time offenders shouldn’t have such a lengthy sentence (and) I understand that, but when it’s a repeat, it involves guns or kids, even if you’re a first-time offender for this crime, it’s not going to be a cakewalk,” Johnston said.
While the sentencing could be lowered, actual time served behind bars will increase with the new reform, with offenders now required to serve 75 percent of their sentences, up from the current 50 percent, which sheriff Mike Morris said could bring more state prisoners — and dollars — into the county.
“Yes, the state is changing, lessening, some of these drug charges, but to offset that we’re increasing the time you actually have to spend behind bars to meet your sentencing,” he said. “That means there could be more people in the county jails instead of the state facilities, which means the Department of Correction could look at sending more people and we could have more local people, too.
“The statutes are still tough on the drug offenders, so if more people need to be housed, then the DOC could send more here, which means more revenue into Knox County,” Morris said. “We have 160 to 170 inmates and we have room for 225, we have 18 from the DOC right now, and we’ll take as many more as the state will give us.”
Morris said the concern will not be in the capacity of the county facility, but rather the options for offenders, and the judges, who aren’t put behind bars.
“The judges will have the discretion to put people behind bars or utilize alternative programs,” he said. “We have excellent rehabilitation programs in the jail and in the county, but what I’m concerned about is the funding.
“Will the state help or is that on the county’s dime?” Morris asked. “I guess we’ll see on July 1.”
State Rep. Kreg Battles, D-Vincennes, told The Sun-Commercial last week that while the program has an estimated cost of $90 million there was only $11 million included in the bill to to help local governments meet those additional expenses.