CINCINNATI — Cincinnati leaders are considering action to help people accused and convicted of nonviolent, misdemeanor crimes.
Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney and council member Scotty Johnson introduced a motion asking city administration to compile a report looking into three actions:
- Purging low-level, nonviolent misdemeanor warrants after seven years;
- Repealing city laws calling for mandatory sentencing for crimes where the state doesn't require the same punishment and;
- Overturning city policy that delays employment for candidates until five years after their conviction.
Kearney said these steps could help to solve a problem many people face when they get out of jail.
"Can they get a job? Can they get housing? If not, where does that leave them? It leaves them back in the environment that got them in jail in the first place," she said.
The idea comes from former council member Tamaya Dennard, who served an 18-month sentence after pleading guilty to honest services wire fraud as part of a scheme to exchange her votes for money. She is currently the director of the Cincinnati Center for Employment Opportunities. In that role, she said she sees the impact of current policies every day.
"We have to figure out as a society, are we going to allow people to have to continue to pay for the mistakes they made or are we going to look at them today for the people they are and the fact that they want to turn their lives around," Dennard said.
While Kearney said exactly what types of convictions could be included in new policies will be determined later, right now she knows some types of convictions will not be included.
"We're not talking about sexual offenses," she said.
Dennard and Kearney both acknowledge that some have a tough-on-crime stance and might not be in favor of these steps.
"The reason why people are tough on crime is because they want to see their community safe. But the issue is, you can't arrest away crime," Dennard said. "What we're saying, jobs and opportunities keep people from re-offending, thus make our community safer."
The motion is set to be discussed during Tuesday's Public Safety and Governance Committee meeting.
