Columbus, OH – Robert Alt, president and chief executive officer of The Buckeye Institute, issued the following statement reacting to a proposal to amend Ohio’s constitution rather than reform the state’s cash bail system.

“Ohio has an overreliance on a cash bail system that allows violent criminals to buy their way out of jail. Regardless of intent, the efforts to amend the state constitution will unfortunately double-down on this often-ineffective approach. 

“Ohio would be far better served by reforming cash bail through the expansion of preventative detention for dangerous offenders rather than using cash bail as a proxy for safety, which pending legislative proposals—Senate Bill 182 and House Bill 315—would accomplish. The General Assembly should look to these legislative proposals to address the very serious challenge of ensuring public safety.”

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