HARRISBURG, Pa. - Criminal justice reform advocates say several changes to a bill meant to reform Pennsylvania's probation system would make the system worse.

One of every 34 adults in the Keystone State is under community supervision, the third highest rate in the country.

The original version of Senate Bill 14 was praised as significant and long overdue reform.

But according to Elizabeth Randol, legislative director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, while the bill that passed unanimously in the state Senate last week contained a few improvements, it eliminated all of the major reforms contained in the earlier version.

"It leaves in place some of the worst elements that are at the root of the problem and sets up an entirely unnecessary and convoluted process to deal with trying to get people off of probation early," she states.

The ACLU and other advocacy groups have dropped their support for the Senate bill. That revised version of the bill is still pending in the House.

Other states and the federal government put limits on probation. The national average is three years.

Randol points out that in Pennsylvania there is no cap and judges can add years for each individual offense, costing the state and counties millions of dollars every year.

"It seems absurd that Pennsylvania would continue to waste money on keeping people under criminal supervision for years if not, in some cases, decades," she states.

Randol notes that the added expense is particularly burdensome in light of the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on state and county budgets.

Randol says the ACLU is now urging the House to vote "no" on SB 14.

"I think we can come back to the drawing board and agree on some important elements of probation reform," she states. "But I think this not only doesn't make the corrections that we were hoping for but in fact in some cases make the probation system worse."

Randol would like to see the General Assembly take up a more effective and meaningful reform bill in the legislative session that begins next January.

The Michigan Supreme Court is set to reexamine the life without parole sentences of three men who have spent two decades in prison, convicted of murder at ages 18, 19 and 20.

The justices will consider several factors, including the age and immaturity of the individuals, their family and home environment and the circumstances of the crimes. In 2022, the Court ruled mandatory no-parole sentences for 18-year-olds convicted of murder violated the state constitution's prohibition on "cruel or unusual" punishment. It will now decide whether to extend the ruling to 19- and 20-year-olds.

Quinn Yeargain, associate professor of law at Michigan State University, supports the court's decision to review the cases.

"There's a good amount of literature out there suggesting that people who are in their late teens and even going into their early twenties, their brains are not fully developed," Yeargain pointed out. "That's sort of the basis of this constitutional challenge."

Critics of reducing life sentences for young offenders argued it is contradictory to claim individuals old enough to vote, marry and obtain abortions without parental consent should not be held fully accountable for their serious crimes.

The high court will also look at how the offenders dealt with police and prosecutors and whether they can be rehabilitated and reintegrated into society. Yeargain emphasized it is not about giving someone a "get out of jail free card." He said Michigan's parole board, which operates within the Department of Corrections, is known for being overly cautious in ensuring individuals seeking parole have genuinely undergone rehabilitation.

"We're talking about people who are still going to be serving very long prison terms, and it's just a statement that maybe they'll be eligible for parole at a certain point," Yeargain emphasized. "If they're able to make a showing that they have changed, they have demonstrated remorse -- then they may be entitled to release at that point."

In Michigan, no-parole life sentences for those 18 or younger are no longer automatic. Judges review their background and potential for rehabilitation, while prosecutors must justify the sentence. The court plans to review the cases in the fall.


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New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has called lawmakers back to the state Capitol this month for a legislative session about public safety.

New Mexico has one of the highest rates of firearm deaths in the country and according to a survey by the website SafeWise.com, state respondents expressed a high level of concern and experience with crime.

Rebecca Edwards, lead safety and tech reporter for SafeWise.com, said more than a third of New Mexicans say they have increased their security or safety measures in the past 12 months.

"People that feel downtrodden, that feel that they don't have opportunities and that can't make ends meet, give up hope, are more desperate to do things to protect themselves," Edwards asserted. "Across the country, people at the bottom don't have a way to get out."

A spokesperson for the governor has said she also will ask lawmakers to raise the penalties for felons caught with firearms. The special session starting July 18 will be the fifth since Lujan Grisham took office six years ago.

Edwards pointed out talk of public safety usually focuses on protection from crime but she feels traditional approaches often do not work over the long haul.

"It feels good to say we're just going to give the police a whole bunch more money, to hire a whole bunch of more officers, but what's the ultimate goal?" Edwards asked. "Are you going to have officers that are trained in more specialized areas? Or what's the emphasis on de-escalation going to be? Nonlethal responses?"

Earlier this year, the Albuquerque Police Department released preliminary 2023 statistics showing an increase in crimes against property and society.

Alan Webber, mayor of Santa Fe, said while Santa Fe's crime rates are lower, all public officials are working to find ways to maintain safety in their communities.

"Sometimes it has to do with the issue of gun and gun violence," Webber noted. "I think we also should focus on ways we can help people who are in public spaces and need to be given mental health services."


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Kentucky is one of a handful of states recently approved to provide health insurance coverage to soon-to-be released incarcerated individuals.

The new rules allow Kentucky to provide Medicaid and CHIP coverage up to 90 days before a person's reentry into society.

John Bowman, senior campaign organizer for the nonprofit Dream.org, said the move will help people reentering society avoid gaps in coverage and reduce barriers to treatment for chronic diseases and substance use disorders.

"Getting these resources in place before they leave incarceration is it's going to be a game changer," Bowman asserted. "Hopefully, we can get to the point where we get it in our county jails as well, instead of just our prisons. Right now, our county jails are excluded."

The new rules also apply to youths in juvenile detention centers who are eligible for the Children's Health Insurance Program, or CHIP. According to federal data, an estimated 80% of returning community members have chronic medical, psychiatric or substance use disorders.

Research has shown overcrowding, poor conditions and lack of access to care can increase infectious diseases in jails, including COVID. During the pandemic, incarcerated people were three times more likely to die from coronavirus than the general population. Bowman noted people with a chronic condition often become sicker in prison or develop medical conditions they did not previously have.

"There is a real lack of health care for incarcerated individuals," Bowman observed. "We just stick them in a cage and then forget about them. The lack of health care in there is, honestly, very demeaning and very sad."

According to the Prison Policy Initiative, all federal prisons and at least 40 states charge incarcerated people an average copay of around $2 when seeking medical care.

Bowman added he hopes Kentucky can expand on access to evidence-based substance use treatment and recovery services, including peer support specialists through Medicaid for people working to piece their lives back together after incarceration.


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