RESOLUTION, from Paula Boggs Muething, City Solicitor, EXPRESSING the City of Cincinnati’s strong support for reform of the Ohio Parole Board; URGING that an independent investigation of policies, procedures, and practices of the Ohio Parole Board needs to be conducted; EXPRESSING support for an increase in the amount of time the Ohio Parole Board is given to review each case, resulting in greater concentration on the issues of each case and fewer distractions that could negatively impact the review process, EXPRESSING support for a revised attendance policy that decreases the number of hearings Ohio Parole Board members can miss and still be allowed to vote; OPPOSING the Ohio Parole Board’s current policy that ignores the need for interpreters for potential parolees whose first and primary language is not English; EXPRESSING support for a more diverse and inclusive Ohio Parole Board and Parole Board support staff; EXPRESSING support for a review of the practice of prosecutors in the hearings; URGING the Ohio General Assembly to separate the Parole Board from the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction; further ENCOURAGING the Ohio General Assembly and the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction to make the following changes to the Ohio Parole Board: that all votes of the Parole Board shall be made immediately following an institutional hearing and clemency hearing, and that such vote shall not be changed; that members of the public and the media shall not be removed from clemency death penalty or full board hearings unless requested by the offender or due to life-threatening situations; that Parole Board members shall elect a Chair for a term of two years and that Chair shall serve only one term as Chair during that six-year period; that Parole Board members shall not hold victim’s or offender’s conferences or be required to attend self-defense classes, which ignores the duties of their position; that the Parole Board shall cease to address or refer to offenders as “inmates” but shall address and refer to these individuals as “offenders”; and that eligible offenders may have their sentences converted from indefinite sentences to the minimum of their indefinite sentences if they meet reasonable suitability factors established by the General Assembly to achieve this purpose; and REAFFIRMING that the City of Cincinnati is a city that supports and encourages justice, fairness, and an end to mass incarceration.

Committee

Cincinnati City Council

Introduced

June 26, 2025

On agenda

April 24, 2019

Passed

April 24, 2019

Enactment no.

0030-2019