Dozens of city, county, neighborhood and social services representatives gathered in the bracing cold Tuesday morning on the site of the decade-defunct Citizens Gas and Coke Utility plant site in the Twin Aire neighborhood just about three miles southeast of downtown Indianapolis. A new criminal justice center is proposed to rise in the 2900 block of East Prospect Avenue.
As lawmakers hammer out another biennial budget, officials backing Indiana’s criminal justice reform say money is the key to keeping the effort moving forward.
In her third State of the Judiciary address as chief justice of the Indiana Supreme Court, Loretta Rush highlighted how partnerships in the state’s judicial system are serving to further three initiatives to the benefit of litigants and legal professionals alike.
In Indianapolis, a person is more likely to die from a drug-related incident than a car crash. This and other drug-related facts where shared with the members of the Indiana House Courts and Criminal Code Committee at a meeting Wednesday. Representatives from the state’s judicial branch were invited to share progress and their concerns regarding Indiana criminal code reform with lawmakers.
Through Recovery of Indiana, a behavioral health program aimed at reducing drug abuse rates across the state, the Front Door Opiate Reduction Initiative is launching in new locations in Indiana to give courts and law enforcement officers additional options besides jail time for drug offenders struggling with serious addictions.
The sheriff of Indiana's fourth-most populous county is seeking a nearly $12 million jail expansion, citing a new state law that's funneling more inmates into county jails.
A group of experts from Indiana's judicial and legal system know they have their work cut out for them as they try to change the nature of the state's criminal justice system.
The Indiana Court of Appeals upheld a man’s conviction but reduced his sentence for dealing heroin even though he didn’t actually participate in the transaction in one of the counts.
Indiana is getting a little love on social media Monday for efforts in recent years to reform its criminal justice system. The U.S. Justice Action Network is including the Hoosier state in its national campaign “30 States, 30 Days” to prompt Congress to pass legislation reforming the federal justice system.
Gov. Mike Pence toughened sentences for drug dealers Monday, signing legislation that would mandate repeat offenders serve at least 10 years if their crime involves methamphetamine or heroin.
A bill imposing mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenders has been approved by the Indiana Legislature and is expected to be signed by Gov. Mike Pence.
A Vanderburgh County man hoping to benefit from Indiana’s overhaul of its criminal codes was instead reminded to read state statutes very carefully.
The Indiana Department of Correction has begun disbursing $5 million in new state funding meant to help local communities provide treatment and rehabilitation programs for low-risk offenders.
A recommendation to sprinkle $5 million in new state funding across nearly half of Indiana’s counties has been unanimously approved by the Justice Reinvestment Advisory Council, paving the way to expand treatment and rehabilitation programs to help low-level offenders.
A bipartisan group of senators unveiled legislation on Thursday that would overhaul the nation's criminal justice system, allowing some nonviolent drug offenders to get reduced prison sentences and giving judges greater discretion in sentencing.
In advance of lower-risk offenders staying in local jails instead of going to state prisons, counties across Indiana have requested more than $17 million from the state. However, for the first round of appropriations this fiscal year, the Department of Correction only has $5 million to give.
Indiana lawmakers' decision to start sending more low-level criminals to community corrections and jails has delayed the state's need for new prison space for at least one year, officials say.
The Indiana Court of Appeals rejected a man’s claim that the savings clause of the 2014 criminal code revision violates the Equal Privileges and Immunities Clause of the Indiana Constitution.
Because a man committed his crime in 1999, well before the effective date of the new Indiana criminal code, the new sentencing statute does not apply to him, the Indiana Court of Appeals held Tuesday.
The bill establishing the funding and the mechanism to distribute the dollars needed for Indiana’s new criminal code reform had a bumpy ride through the Statehouse. But in the final hours of the 2015 legislative session, lawmakers approved language that ensured the money would be funneled through local programs and projects designed to reduce recidivism and ease overcrowding in Indiana’s prisons.