The Utah Sentencing Commission released their new Adult Sentencing, Release, and Supervision Guidelines for 2023. Here are the top three changes to this edition of the Guidelines.
Determining what behavior is criminal and what punishments are attached is a core function of government. Ultimately, elected and accountable legislators should be determining what sentences the state doles out.
Twenty-two Utahns were killed by police in 2022, or one death per 154,761 Utahns. This is far above the national rate of one deadly officer shooting per 284,212 Americans.
Because people are legally innocent until proven guilty, they should generally not be kept in jail unless and until they are found guilty. However, the justice system owes a duty not only to defendants, but also to the public.
Current drug penalties pass neither of these tests. Lawmakers owe it to both those accused of drug crimes and the taxpayers, who fund their prosecution and incarceration, to make sure that drug classifications and penalties are grounded in objective fact.
It has been truly said that justice delayed is justice denied. As memories fade and evidence becomes stale, it is harder for juries to accurately determine truth.
