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Legislative News and Views - Rep. John Lesch (DFL)

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Rep. John Lesch Applauds Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission for Advancing Five-Year Probation Cap

Thursday, November 7, 2019

On November 6, the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission voted 6-5 to advance a proposal to cap probation sentences at five years. State Representative John Lesch (DFL-St. Paul), Chair of the Judiciary Finance and Civil Law Division, applauded the commission’s decision. 

“All Minnesotans deserve a criminal justice system that is fair and equitable, but for too many people, it’s not working — particularly for communities of color and Indigenous communities,” said Lesch. “I applaud Commissioner Schnell and the Sentencing Guidelines Commission for taking action to fix this broken system after the Minnesota Senate blocked a bipartisan bill from advancing in the legislative process earlier this year. I was proud to vote to include this as our Judiciary and Public Safety Omnibus bill, but was disappointed to see it stripped out in conference committee this year. Minnesota has wide racial and geographic disparities and is ranked fifth among all states in percentage of residents who are on probation, and I’m proud to be part of a broad coalition of people who are working to address this unacceptable reality.”