A few weeks ago, a law went into effect in Ohio that will save the Buckeye state millions of dollars and also, as Governor Kasich put it, “literally will save thousands of lives.” What is this amazing piece of legislation? It’s the state’s Criminal Justice Reform Act, and it only became law because of the support and work of Christians like you.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that the law radically changes Ohio’s approach to prisons and prisoners. Prior to passage of the law, Ohio’s approach to crime was “Lock ’em up!” Even for first time, non-violent crimes, virtually every offender was shipped to a prison, often hundreds of miles from their home and family.

As Justice Fellowship and I have been insisting for three decades, that one-size-fits-all approach may be politically popular, but it is destructive of the lives of prisoners and costs more than we can afford.

Obviously we need prisons for dangerous offenders. However, many lawbreakers can be safely punished in the community under mandatory supervision for a lot less money. Supervising low-risk offenders in the community eliminates a terrible impact of mass incarceration — the destruction of ties between the offender and the community to which he will eventually return.

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