/Criminal justice reforms focus on drug courts, expungement

Criminal justice reforms focus on drug courts, expungement

Details of H.B. were discussed by the House Judiciary B Committee. Rep. Jason White (R-West), was the author of H.B. 1352. The bill’s title is “The Criminal Justice Reform Act”. It was introduced by Rep. Jason White, R-West. Wilkes asked if reforms should be focused on “trying to prevent problems on the front end rather than having any consequences at the back end.” Rep. Kevin Horan (D-Grenada) asked about a constituent with two separate drug convictions from 2008 and 2010. He has maintained a clean record since then. White explained that only the first conviction under the proposed changes would be eligible to be expunged. White and Angela Cockerham (D-Magnolia) said they are still working on the bill to present a “product” to the full House. This bill includes changes to the maximum amount of time a person can spend under supervision or probation. It also creates graduated sanctions for probation violation. These provisions are part of a Senate bill sponsored in part by Rep. Brice WIggins, R-Pascagoula. After the passage of two bills in 2014 and 2018, which aimed to reduce prison populations, costs, sentence lengths, and eliminate the use of debtor prisons, Phil Bryant has pushed for a second wave of criminal justice reforms.