An Allen County judge now weighs in on the conversation about reducing some drug sentences to misdemeanors.
Judge Jeffrey Reed spoke to Your Hometown Stations about Senate Bill 3, which would reform sentencing laws for certain drug convictions. With the current legislation, Reed says he finds multiple issues with it. He thinks the downgraded charges would take away the motivation for someone to change their life. Reed says that's what Allen County Drug Court has been doing for 19 years. It's a diversion program that holds the felony charge over someone until completing the treatment and then felony conviction is removed.
"A lot of people have changed their lives," said Reed. "And a lot of people have avoided the felony. If you take away the hammer of the felony, conviction, and the potential penalty which could be imprisonment, the motivation perhaps to go get the treatment may not be as strong."
The bill supporters think it will help those convicted find work easier but Judge Reed doesn't agree.
"I think more of an impediment for people getting and holding jobs, with or without a felony, is being able to pass a drug test, getting up and making it to work on time, and not having a lot of absentee," Reed said. "I think if you turn felonies into misdemeanors, that's not going to change."
Reed also says there is the issue of which court would hear the cases. Would it be common pleas or municipal court?
