A record 399 Indictments in 2015. That headline blared across local media recently. It sounds impressive. Just over 7 indictments per week. Hmmm. 7 to 8 indictments per week? Is that a lot? What’s really behind that number in the battle for our streets?
To really know, you must first know what the basic Ohio felony sentencing rules are. Anyone convicted of an Ohio felony faces a sentence based on the degree of the felony involved. Each felony category has a sentence range:
First-degree felony: 3 to 11 years in prison
Second-degree felony: 2 to 8 years in prison
Third-degree felony: 9 months to 5 years in prison
Fourth degree felony: 6 to 18 months in prison
Fifth degree felony: 6 to 12 months in prison, if prison eligible.
Of those 399 indictments in 2015, 225 people were charged with drug related crimes. 188 different individual cases consisted of a total of 211 charges for felony drug possession. Of those 211 felony drug possession charges, there were 163 convictions. Those 163 conviction break down like this: 1 misdemeanor, 10 Felony 4 counts, 4 Felony 3 Counts and two Felony 2 Counts. The rest were all Felony 5 Counts which means generally a sentence of 9 months and in most cases a presumption against ever serving any state prison time. Dealers or users convicted of Felony 5 level offenses are generally right back on our streets.
If there were 211 charges and 163 convictions, what happened to the rest? Mostly dismissals, for a dismissal rate of 23%. A 77% conviction rate?
That means 92% of the people charged with drug possession in 2015 either had their cases dismissed, or faced minimal jail time! Even our judges can’t stop this revolving door back to the streets if the cases are not charged better!
So what about the drug dealers? How many drug dealers were charged with dealing last year? There were a total of 37 drug trafficking convictions, out of a total of 399 indictments in 2015. There were a total of 50 drug trafficking charges. Of the 37 drug trafficking convictions, 12, or one third were Felony 5 level meaning the convicted drug dealer faced a minimal sentence and many never even see the inside of a state prison! Again, the conviction rate seems very low at 74%.
But wait. It gets worse. Remember 2015 was the first and only year Judge Leuthold has been on the common pleas bench. What happened in the two years prior to Judge Leuthold taking over?
In 2014, there were a total of 147 charges. Only 147 compared to 399 in 2015! It breaks down like this.
142 drug possession charges. Only 85 convictions. A conviction rate of less than 60%. Only 11 of the 85 convictions were for anything higher than the Felony 5 level offense.
So if we weren’t prosecuting drug possession cases, surely we must have been focused on drug trafficking? Nope. 4 people were charged with 5 counts of drug trafficking. They all pled guilty, but three were for Felony 5 level trafficking, remember that’s minimal or no state prison time. In an entire year, 4, that’s right 4 drug trafficking cases. Nothing more serious than a Felony 4.
In 2013, it’s not any better. Only 132 drug related charges! Again, 132 total charges in 2013 compared to 399 in 2015 after Judge Leuthold takes the bench.
There were 104 drug possession cases, resulting in 115 drug possession charges and 61 drug possession convictions. Only 7 were for offenses higher than Felony 5. Remember, its drug possession, that means they possessed the drugs. That is a 53% conviction rate.
Drug dealers fared a little worse, there were actually 17 drug trafficking charges in 2013 which resulted in 14 convictions.
So why the big increase in 2015? Was it Judge Leuthold? Was it because we were heading into an election year?
What will 2016, post-election, bring? A judge can only sentence the cases that are before him. If a defendant is charge with a Felony 5 the most Judge Leuthold can do is sentence him to 12 months in prison, IF, he is even prison eligible.
That’s why we have to have a prosecutor that knows how to build cases. When the police are working hard, using your tax dollars to arrest individuals for drug possession, are we really saying we want a 53% conviction rate?
We have to elect a prosecutor, not a politician.
-Rob Ratliff
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