The Rundown

Criminal justice reform group releases video with wide spectrum of supporters

By: David DeWitt - February 5, 2020 1:00 am

The Alliance for Safety and Justice (ASJ) on Wednesday released a new video of key Ohio stakeholders from the state legislature, law enforcement, and advocacy and policy organizations urging support for criminal justice reform via Senate Bill 3.

The video features Ohio Senate President Larry Obhof, Senate Bill 3 sponsor state Sen. John Eklund, Ohio House Criminal Justice Committee Chair George Lang, Newtown Police Chief Tom Synan, The Buckeye Institute President Robert Alt, and ASJ’s Ohio State Director, Shakyra Diaz.

The video highlights how Senate Bill 3 would enact proven responses to addiction that prioritize treatment over felony convictions, facilitating successful recovery for Ohioans and an end to the cycle of addiction and crime.

Senate Bill 3 would reclassify low-level drug possession to a misdemeanor so Ohioans can get treatment in communities and do not have their recovery undermined by the immense barriers associated with a felony conviction, the release said.

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David DeWitt

OCJ Editor-in-Chief and Columnist David DeWitt has been covering government, politics, and policy in Ohio since 2007, including education, health care, crime and courts, poverty, state and local government, business, labor, energy, environment, and social issues. He has worked for the National Journal, The New York Observer, The Athens NEWS, and Plunderbund.com. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Ohio University’s E.W. Scripps School of Journalism and is a board member of the E.W. Scripps Society of Alumni and Friends. He can be found on Twitter @DC_DeWitt