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Republican lawmakers in Indiana want to take tough measures against county prosecutors

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Indianapolis, Indiana – Republican lawmakers are trying to control local prosecutors like Marion County’s Ryan Mears, who have declared they will not prosecute minor offenses like marijuana possession, at a time when the GOP-controlled Indiana General Assembly is decriminalizing cannabis.

In an attempt to send a message to the Indiana Statehouse, Mears stated on September 30, 2019, “We feel comfortable making the decision that we are no longer going to move forward with these type of prosecutions because there is no nexus between possession of marijuana cases and violent crime.”

There are currently two legislative measures to penalize county prosecutors who decline to pursue a particular type of crime, regardless of whether there is sufficient evidence to convict, suggesting that lawmakers took Mears’ message seriously.

Rep. Chris Jeter, a Republican from Fishers, has sponsored House Bill 1006, which would address the rise in violent and property crime caused by Marion County citizens breaking the law by traveling north into Hamilton County.

“There’s a big difference between me going out on the street corner and saying, ‘I’m not prosecuting any shoplifting, I’m not prosecuting any drugs,’ and saying, ‘I don’t really think there is enough evidence in this case to prosecute,'” Jeter stated. “We’ve observed that it has had a negative impact in other areas, especially in large cities when that statement is made. In a sense, it invites lawlessness. Our only goal is to prevent that from entering our borders.

Under Jeter’s measure, county prosecutors who decline to press charges for certain crimes would no longer be reimbursed for qualified costs.

“Counties would need to be eligible for the fund,” Jeter stated. “I believe one of the requirements would be that they are upholding the law, which is sort of their primary responsibility and something we have been very clear we want to see.”

Jeter went on to say that the general assembly’s “values and principles” would probably be a requirement of the funding for prosecutors.

Prosecutors have the option to drop criminal charges if they don’t believe the evidence supports them, according to Jeter’s bill.

He declared, “We will exercise extreme caution and ensure that we do not interfere with the prosecutor’s discretion.” “We’ll make sure we have a procedure that allows prosecutors to be heard and those matters to be examined. All we want is for our communities to be safe and for the laws we enact to be obeyed.

Senate Joint Resolution 22, a constitutional amendment that would allow a governor to remove a county prosecutor from office for refusing to file on specific matters across the board, was submitted by Marion County Republican Aaron Freeman.

“I believe the governor should have the authority to remove a prosecutor from office when they don’t understand Schoolhouse Rock and that the executive branch is the one that implements the laws passed by the legislature and they simply don’t want to do their job,” Freeman stated. “Perhaps we ought to discuss the Broken Windows theory and apply a bit more law and order to those at the lower end of the spectrum. If we do that, we might never reach the larger end of the spectrum.”

Following the death of former prosecutor Terry Curry, Mears said early in his term that he would not enforce laws pertaining to petty marijuana possession.

Mears was overwhelmingly elected to his first full term by Marion County voters in 2022.

This individual has declared that they would not abide by the law. Freeman, a former Marion County deputy prosecutor, declared, “I will not enforce the laws of the General Assembly.” “I am confident that Marion County voters will make that choice in the next election for prosecutor, and I believe they are capable of doing so.”

Regarding the proposed legislation, Mears’ office remained silent.

“The Republican supermajority uses every session as an excuse to attack local control, and these proposals are just the latest examples,” said a statement released by Indiana Democrats. Instead of incarcerating people for non-violent cannabis infractions, the prosecutor that the people of Indianapolis chose pledged to devote more time to the crimes that truly matter.

“We feel that local leaders and governments are the ones who know their communities the best, and these bills would deprive local voters of the authority to choose their prosecutors and other important officials.”

Before Freeman’s resolution could be put on a statewide ballot, it would need to be approved by two General Assemblies in a row.

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