Legislation

This provision in the FY 2021 budget would implement a procedure for geriatric parole in Rhode Island.

Two bills introduced this session would provide avenues for expungement of certain offenses related to drug possession and would ensure rehabilitation and community reintegration following an individual’s involvement with the criminal justice system.

This legislation, supported by the ACLU, would severely limit the number of juveniles adjudicated in Family Court for sex offenses who would be required to register under SORNA.

We supported legislation which would have allowed the pretrial release of individuals without the requirement of monetary bail for most misdemeanor charges.

One of many bills which would generate a “new” crime would create specific penalties for individuals who commit larceny by stealing packages from either a house, office, or other dwelling.

This bill would unnecessarily expand the punishments which can be doled out under the animal cruelty laws, including for hoarding offenses.

Each legislative session, dozens of bills are introduced, and a number of them passed, which counteract the important work of criminal justice reform, as these new crimes and increased sentences are often arbitrary and almost always unnecessary.

The ACLU has consistently opposed the imposition of mandatory minimum sentencing terms on the grounds that they are ineffective, costly, eliminate individualized consideration of the offender and the offense, and place too much power in the hands of prosecutors instead of neutral judges.