A package to improve public safety is moving ahead in the California state Legislature - with a floor vote in the State Assembly on the first bill expected this week. Assembly Bill 2215 puts into statute that police officers have the discretion to send people arrested for low-level offenses directly to supportive services. Anthony DiMartino - government affairs director with the nonprofit Californians for Safety and Justice - said sometimes public safety is best served when people avoid arrest and instead get therapy, addiction support or help getting a job. .
Amid overcrowding and unsafe conditions in West Virginia jails, state lawmakers introduced bills that would allow judges to take a second look at an individual s original sentence. If a court determines they no longer pose a threat to the community, the person could be released, placed on supervision, or receive a shortened sentence. Sara Whitaker - criminal legal policy analyst with the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy - said West Virginia is one of the few states that has seen its prison population balloon over the past decade, despite declining crime. .
Of New York s many outdated laws, the adultery law could go this year. A bill repealingthe 1907 New York adultery law passed the Assembly and is now in the Senate. Adultery is a misdemeanor crime carrying a penalty of up to 90 days in jail. .