When I was merely a teenager, my world slipped out from under me as I lost my irreplaceable father to the cruel act of murder. It was a crushing blow that ultimately led me to aging out the system, suddenly finding myself captive to homelessness. It is a despair no one should endure. Yet, in the extraordinary span of life, it led me to be an advocate for youth homelessness, and I found forgiveness, because the offender has since transformed and become a productive member of society and has a family. This redemption underscores the importance of being lenient on first-time offenders.

Our criminal justice system, in its current shape, indiscriminately imposes mandatory sentences on first-time offenders and military veterans. This approach ends up punishing some people disproportionately to their offenses. We must map out a path for reform, starting with the revocation of such heavy-handed penalties.

In a report by Human Rights Watch, it was found that mandatory minimum sentences are largely responsible for the mass incarceration of nearly 2.3 million people. We must try and mitigate this statistical atrocity.

Nearly 29 States have already gotten rid of the Mandatory sentences. effectively reducing mass incarceration. The goal of these mandatory sentence laws when they were developed was to promote uniformity; it doesn’t matter how strict or lenient your judge is, Character witness or letters a not played into a factor, if someone accepts a plea due to poor counsel most times mental health or circumstances are not taken into account, as the law and the law alone determines the sentence you receive. Regrettably, the adoption of mandatory minimums has not led to a fairer system. In fact, it’s had the opposite effect. By tying judges’ hands, mandatory minimums effectively took power away from judges and gave it to prosecutors.

In Ohio the recidivism rate for the year 2024 was 32.7% up a whole 12.7% from 2020, most of those was drug related, sexual offenses and property crimes or parole violations of doing one of the above, not violent acts or murder. in fact, a study proved that people getting out after serving time for violent crimes 73% do not end up back incarcerated and of the 27% that do end up incarcerated 86% of those are for non-violent crimes, that is only four out of a hundred that will end up back incarcerated due to similar violent crimes.

Now, I'm not saying release mass murders, serial killers, or people that have already done a second offence. But give a chance to those on their first offense charge to prove that they can be a member of society. stopping these mandatory sentences not only helps reintegrate people into society, but save government dollars and taxpayers money, stops overcrowding of prisons so correction officers and inmates can feel safe in the process while working and rehabilitating.

The tragic loss of my father can never be justified nor forgotten, but it taught me that justice doesn't always mean lifelong sentences, especially for those who demonstrate their ability to reform. Each case is unique and deserves consideration on an individual basis. Can we allow for the possibility of change and growth?

Please support this petition to help initiate a pivotal change in our criminal justice system. Show your belief in second chances and the power of transformation. Eliminate mandatory sentences for first-time offenders. Sign your name and make your voice heard.