The PEER Committee’s own overview of this paper summarizes it well (emphasis own):

“Recent criminal justice reform efforts in Mississippi have been implemented as a result of the passage of H.B. 1231 (2013 Regular Session), H.B. 585 (2014 Regular Session), H.B. 387 (2018 Regular Session), and H.B. 1352 (2019 Regular Session). Each of these bills have moved criminal justice reform efforts forward in the state. H.B. 585 and H.B. 1352 have had the biggest effects so far. H.B. 585 made sweeping changes to sentencing standards for certain property and drug crimes by reducing them to misdemeanors from felonies. However, PEER analysis found that these changes in sentencing standards do not appear to reduce the commission of these types of crimes. Rather, the cost of handling these crimes has shifted to local governments, as lower courts must now absorb the cost of handling these crimes at the misdemeanor level. This finding is indicative of the need for more intervention programs, such as those expanded by H.B. 1352, to deter crime rather than just shift it.”

Reading Resources

Filters: