Articles

Indiana House panel backs sentencing-laws overhaul

A sweeping plan to overhaul Indiana's criminal sentencing laws cleared its first hurdle in the Legislature on Wednesday with the support of law-enforcement groups that had scuttled similar efforts the past two years.

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State sentencing overhaul to take another year

Legislators stung last year by county prosecutors who opposed a sweeping plan to overhaul Indiana’s criminal sentencing scheme won’t push the issue this year. Sheriffs now are worried that an attempt to reduce crowding in state prisons could aggravate overpopulation in their jails.

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Lawmaker: Prison land sale may pose safety threat

Democratic state Rep. Scott Reske said the sale of nine tracts of land surrounding the Pendleton Correctional Facility would cut in half a state-owned buffer zone between Pendleton's Fall Creek Elementary School and the town's two prison facilities.

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Critics: City’s effort to help ex-offenders ineffective

Three years after Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard launched a city office designed to help ex-offenders avoid a repeat prison visit, some of those original supporters say the city’s Office of Re-Entry Initiatives not only has fallen short of that goal but has accomplished little else.

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Daniels’ plan on sentencing changes appears dead

Daniels had made revamping of the criminal sentencing laws one of his top priorities for this year's legislative session, but lawmakers handling the bill said Tuesday they hadn't been able to reach a compromise and didn't expect more action before the General Assembly's April 29 adjournment deadline.

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Prosecutors buck effort to trim state prison costs

Angry prosecutors have derailed a legislative plan to reduce Indiana's corrections costs by shortening some criminal sentences, and now the state seen as a national model for fiscal austerity could be forced to find millions of dollars for new prisons.

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Indiana chief justice endorses sentencing changes

A report suggests allowing judges to sentence people convicted of lesser felonies to community corrections, which would help free up prison space for the state’s worst offenders and potentially saving more than $1 billion that would otherwise go toward building new prisons.

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Initiative aims to cut Indiana prison costs

Indiana will soon get its first comprehensive review of the state's criminal code and sentencing policies since 1976,
and officials hope the project will save taxpayer money and reduce how frequently released inmates return to prison

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City program gives firms incentive to hire ex-offenders

A pilot project is providing jobs for 70 ex-convicts, with their $10-an-hour wages covered
by Uncle Sam for six months. City officials hope they can then transition into other jobs or receive recommendations that
help them to find other work.

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Biomass boilers could save Indiana prisons $36M

New biomass boilers at four Indiana prisons are projected to save the state $36 million over 10 years. The Indiana Department
of Correction says it dedicated the first of the new boilers last week at the Pendleton Correctional Facility northeast of
Indianapolis.

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