Felony Limits (H 7176, S 2368)

On June 4th, Governor Chafee signed into law legislation raising value of a stolen object necessary for a felony charge from $500 to $1500. The ACLU and the Office of the Public Defender testified in favor of this change, noting that inflation since the law was enacted means that items once worth $500 cost significantly more today, and yet defendants are saddled with serious felony charges for stealing items the statute likely never intended to value so highly. This legislation represents a positive step toward applying appropriate punishments in response to crimes.