Prosecutor: Crime On Rise, Prison Sentences Decrease

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http://www.10tv.com/content/stories/...-decrease.html


LONDON, Ohio - Madison County Assistant Prosecutor Eamon Costello said that since September, his job has gotten more frustrating, 10TV’s Glenn McEntyre reported on Thursday.

Costello said a new law, House Bill 86, that went into effect in the fall reduces sentences and the number of offenders eligible for prison time, favoring probation for non-violent, first-time offenders.

“When crime is up and punishment is down, that’s a recipe for bad results,” Costello said.

Felonies in Madison County increased by 25 percent in 2011 from the previous year, Costello said.

Felonies like breaking and entering, drug abuse and drug trafficking no longer equal a prison sentence, McEntyre reported.

“People have expectations in a community like this that if you traffic heroin, you’re going to go to prison,” Costello said. “That has become something that is very very difficult for judges to do.’

Linda Janes of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction said that the law allows the state to rehabilitate and intervene.