I am posting this to urge lawmakers, correctional leadership, and the public to reconsider Andy’s Law as it is currently written. While I acknowledge the tragic loss of Correction Officer Andrew Lansing and agree that staff safety must always be a priority, this bill introduces sweeping changes that ultimately undermine the very purpose of the rehabilitation system. These changes do not strengthen rehabilitation — they weaken it.

The correctional system is not meant to exist solely as punishment. Its purpose is to rehabilitate individuals so they can return to society improved, stable, and less likely to reoffend. Any policy that moves us further away from that goal does not enhance public safety — it jeopardizes it.

Removing Contact Visits

One of the most concerning aspects of Andy’s Law is how it disregards the role of mental health in rehabilitation. Mental health is not separate from rehabilitation — it is foundational to it. Incarcerated individuals who maintain contact with their families are demonstrably more stable, more compliant, and more receptive to programming. Family contact provides emotional grounding, accountability, and motivation to improve. Removing or restricting that contact does not correct behavior; it exacerbates instability.

Removing Tablets

Communication through tablets and monitored technology has been repeatedly shown to be a safer alternative, not a liability. These communications are recorded, monitored, and controlled. The risks associated with tablets are minimal compared to the benefits they provide in maintaining family ties and reducing tension within facilities. Eliminating or restricting tablet access under the assumption that it improves safety ignores the reality of how correctional facilities actually function day-to-day.

When tablets are removed and phone access is limited — especially in already overcrowded institutions — communication becomes a scarce resource. Scarcity breeds conflict. Inmates are forced to compete for phone access, turning something as basic as calling family into a trigger for confrontation and violence. This does not improve safety for staff or inmates. It increases tension, frustration, and physical altercations — the exact outcomes this bill claims to prevent.

Removing Higher Education - Good Days, Schooling, Comp Days

Additionally, sweeping punitive measures that limit access to rehabilitative programs, education, or structured activities are counterproductive. The individuals who struggle most with behavior are often the ones who need these programs the most. Removing opportunities for growth as punishment only entrenches negative behavior and ensures people leave the system worse than when they entered.

True safety is achieved through stability, structure, and rehabilitation — not isolation and restriction. A system that prioritizes mental health care, consistent family contact, and meaningful programming creates safer facilities, safer staff working conditions, and safer communities upon release. A system that strips those supports away does the opposite.

I am calling for meaningful amendments to Andy’s Law that preserve the core mission of rehabilitation. We can honor the memory of Officer Lansing and protect correctional staff without dismantling proven rehabilitative tools. These goals are not mutually exclusive — but the bill, as written, treats them as if they are.

I urge lawmakers to pause, listen to correctional professionals, families, and rehabilitation experts, and revise this legislation so it supports improvement, not regression. Rehabilitation works when we allow it to.