The Ohio Criminal Sentencing Commission today released its first published annual report illustrating its mission and vision to enhance justice and ensure fair sentencing across the state.

The General Assembly created the commission by statue in 1990 to study Ohio’s criminal laws, sentencing patterns, and juvenile offender dispositions and to make recommendations to lawmakers.

The 2015 annual report highlighted criminal sentencing committees: executive, juvenile justice, sentencing, criminal justice, and data collecting and sharing. The committees are staffed by commission members and may include individuals outside of the commission that have a vested interest in the specific committee work.

Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor chairs the commission and Licking County Common Pleas Court Judge Thomas M. Marcelain served as its vice chair in 2015. Champaign County Common Pleas Court Judge Nick Selvaggio was elected vice chair for a term that began in January 2016. The commission is comprised of 31 members, 10 of whom are judges appointed by the chief justice.

In her first year as the commission’s director, Sara Andrews said the members helped rejuvenate the commission to become a “reliable resource to further advance sound, well-rounded criminal justice policy and public safety reform” in Ohio.

“On behalf of the commission, I am proud to say we’ve created a dynamic, spirited energy that provides the opportunity to work hard and fast while deliberate and thoughtful as demonstrated by our brand, our logo, and, importantly, our mission and vision,” Andrews said.“We have identity, we have purpose, and we are delivering tangible outcomes.”

Andrews said those outcomes were demonstrated by the recently introduced legislation Senate Bill 272.

In 2016, Andrews said the commission will collaborate with academic institutions, the National Institute of Corrections, and other state sentencing commissions on issues of bail and pre-services reform, improving outcomes through data collection, and rights restoration.

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