Author Archives: Mignon Ware

State, national groups support Indiana public defense reform

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The Indiana Lawyer

02/06/2019

Olivia Covington

Leaders of state and national criminal justice organizations are declaring their support for the Indiana Public Defender Commission’s reform initiative, which the commission is presenting to the Indiana General Assembly this year in an effort to secure additional funds to expand and improve indigent defense services statewide. In a letter submitted to House Speaker Brian […]

Op-ed: Indiana needs clinics that medically treat opioid addiction

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IndyStar

10/06/2018

When I relocated to Indiana to assume my role as chief medical officer at Fairbanks three years ago, I witnessed firsthand — on day one — the level of devastation the opioid crisis has inflicted on our communities. Today, despite physicians’ best efforts, relentless news coverage, and the establishment of Gov. Eric Holcomb’s Commission to Combat Drug Abuse, the opioid epidemic is getting worse in Indiana. This illness does not […]

Howard County eliminates probation position Chief probation officer asks for consideration in future for workload

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06/07/2016

Devin Zimmerman

Howard County’s attrition ordinance continues to be enacted, this time within the probation department. During last month’s meeting, the Howard County Council removed a position from the county’s probation department. The move, made unanimously, resulted in the position’s $36,951.39 salary and other benefits being returned to the county’s general fund. “We had an employee that […]

Indiana prosecutors call for harsher sentences on drug offenses

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IndyStar

12/09/2015

Indiana prosecutors are calling for tougher punishments on drug crimes in a proposal that they say would target career drug dealers and violent criminals. The Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council, or IPAC, is urging state lawmakers to consider a bill this coming session that would give prosecutors more tools to charge suspected drug dealers with higher-level offenses. The proposed legislation […]

U.S. to release 6,000 inmates in one of the largest mass discharges from federal prisons in American history

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National Post

October 7, 2015

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department is preparing to release roughly 6,000 inmates from federal prisons starting at the end of this month as part of an effort to ease overcrowding and roll back the harsh penalties given to nonviolent drug dealers in the 1980s and ’90s, according to federal law enforcement officials. About a third […]

Solutions offered for Indiana’s criminal justice ills

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Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper

09/10/2015

By JESSICA R. KEY @QueenCuriosity3

Criminal justice system reform has been high on states’ priority lists. Many states, including Indiana, are making progress, but experts say more needs to be done. The Charles Koch Institute recently held a forum called “Indiana’s Justice Agenda: Second Chances in the Hoosier State” to address some of Indiana’s remaining criminal justice issues. The forum […]

Court suspends probation officer demotions

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The Boston Globe

08/05/2015

Andrea Estes

Trial court officials have indefinitely suspended plans to demote probation officers who failed a controversial new exam as five officers filed discrimination complaints charging that the test was biased against minorities. Twelve acting chief probation officers — half of them minority members — had been facing the prospect of a demotion and pay cut on […]

Job Cuts Part Of Tippecanoe Court Services Reorganization

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MAY 28, 2015

By KRISTIN MALAVENDA

After several months of trying to dig itself out of a financial hole, Tippecanoe County’s Court Services division is undergoing a massive reorganization. Four of the agency’s seven full-time positions will be eliminated at the end of June as part of a broader change in the way the department serves low-level offenders. The move comes […]

How 4 teens became murderers without killing anyone

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Indy Star

04/20/2015

ELKHART – — April Sparks was waiting in line to pre-pay for gas at a 7-Eleven store when she overheard a conversation she didn’t want to hear. “They don’t deserve that,” the cashier said. “They should spend their lives in prison,” the customer in front of her said. Sparks knew exactly whom they were talking […]

Work to prevent opiate drug abuse

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INDYSTAR

Indiana 10:13 p.m. EDT May 2, 2015

Since Gov. Mike Pence issued a public health disaster emergency order in response to the state’s HIV outbreak, public and private leaders have marshalled a remarkable effort to identify cases, provide care and support to those who have tested positive for HIV, and prevent new infections. This evidence-based approach is critical to effectively contain the […]