This is The Marshall Project - Cleveland’s newsletter, a twice monthly digest of criminal justice news from around Ohio gathered by our staff of local journalists. Want this delivered to your inbox? Subscribe to future newsletters.
Ohio has 30 days to lift driver’s license suspensions for fines and fees.
Starting next month, a new Ohio law will lift driver’s license suspensions for some people who were unable to pay court fines or fees.
Going forward, courts won’t be able to issue immediate suspensions in many cases where drivers are unable to pay fines and fees. The law is narrow and covers some, but not all, suspensions.
You can find answers to common questions about how the law will work in our explainer. If you have a question we didn’t answer, let us know.
The law takes effect April 9 and gives officials 30 days to remove the old suspensions — a tricky task that will involve communication between local courts and the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles to identify the suspensions tied to fines and fees.
The law includes other changes, such as eliminating most immediate suspensions related to minor drug offenses and shrinking the “lookback” period for penalties for drivers who didn’t have proof of insurance.
Advocates and lawmakers pushed for years for changes to the law. Reporting from The Marshall Project - Cleveland and News 5 Cleveland drew attention to how the suspensions created a financial toll for drivers.
While the new law may benefit some drivers, some court officials have warned that the law could lead to a drop in revenue because registration blocks can no longer be issued for unpaid fees and fines.
Ohio Rep. Darnell Brewer, a Democrat who represents parts of Cleveland and several eastern suburbs, told The Marshall Project - Cleveland he’ll continue to push for additional changes.
– Rachel Dissell
Dueling budget priorities for Ohio prisons
Ohio’s director of prisons is prioritizing public safety, while advocates for incarcerated people want state lawmakers to continue funding supportive programs in the next two-year budget.
Gov. Mike Dewine has proposed about a 16% increase in spending, or nearly $757 million more over the next two years, for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. The department houses nearly 45,000 incarcerated people each day and supervises many of the 18,000 people released each year.
The incarcerated population decreased during the pandemic, accelerating a decade-long decline. Starting two years ago, though, the population started to rebound. And that’s not because people are committing more crimes.
With recidivism rates at a 30-year low, prisons Director Annette Chambers-Smith told lawmakers last month that the uptick is due, in part, to new tools that help parole officers “identify violators quickly and return them to prison, thereby protecting the community.”
Inside prisons, Chambers-Smith is asking for hundreds of additional correctional officers. At the prison where officer Andrew Lansing was beaten to death on Christmas Day, staff will receive tasers in May. But Chambers-Smith isn’t waiting for the results of that pilot program. She’s asking for tasers in every state prison.
Meanwhile, advocates with Building Freedom Ohio want lawmakers to lower barriers to housing and employment for formerly incarcerated and rehabilitated people. The group is also demanding that funding be maintained for the Expedited Pardon Initiative. Since 2019, the program has helped applicants seal felony convictions in a matter of months instead of years.
The budget bill is in the Ohio House Finance Committee. It must be passed by both chambers of the state legislature and signed by the governor before July.
– Doug Livingston
County jail chat continues in Garfield Heights
Staff from The Marshall Project - Cleveland are returning to Garfield Heights for the second in our series of community chats focusing on the new Cuyahoga County Jail.
The event is scheduled for April 4 at 6 p.m. inside Miss O’s Cafe, 12672 Rockside Road in Garfield Heights.
Residents will hear about the latest updates on the proposed construction of a new county jail and Marshall Project staff will be on hand to respond to unanswered questions posed at the inaugural event in December.
The event is free and open to the public.
Around the 216
- The family of a man who collapsed inside the Cuyahoga County Jail and later died is questioning the emergency medical response from staff. Nathan Kinney, 27, died March 6. The family is demanding all records related to Kinney’s death. News 5 Cleveland
- Marcus Perez, the embattled head of the City of Cleveland’s Civilian Police Review Board, has left the oversight body. The board voted unanimously to accept Perez’s verbal resignation. News 5 Cleveland
- A Cleveland city councilman is demanding the resignation of the federal monitor overseeing the city’s consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice. The move comes after an encounter inside a casino between monitor Karl Racine and an off-duty police officer. WKYC 3News
- The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is leading a probe into the death of a man shot by Ravenna police. Officers say they shot Shawn Antonio Ware after he brandished what turned out to be a BB gun. WKYC 3News
