Justice Reinvestment

The General Assembly seemed poised to pass a number of important bills aimed at improving the criminal justice system. Among these bills were legislation clarifying the definition of misdemeanor and felony, and amending the appropriate penalties (H 8186, S 2935), legislation adjusting the way probation and parole are done (H 8205, S 2934), and legislation establishing a Superior Court diversion program (H 8172, S 2933). The package of six bills sprang from the Governor's Justice Reinvestment Working Group, and followed nearly a year's worth of work between government officials and community advocates. Each of these bills passed the Senate but, in a disappointing turn of events, the House failed to act on any of the legislation before the end of the session and each of the bills died. The bills were brought before the Senate Judiciary Committee early in 2017, and we once again testified in support of them.