By Guy Page,
In the face of rising homicide and drug crime, Vermont must pull back from several criminal justice reform laws passed in recent years, Gov. Phil Scott told the State House press at noon Wednesday.

“We should learn from the failed experiments in places like San Francisco and Oregon, where even they are thinking of repealing many of the measures they’ve put in place,” Scott said.
Gov. Scott has been criticized for just now criticizing bills he signed into law (including reducing bail options) and not proposing enough criminal justice funding, such as more deputy state’s attorneys to reduce the staggering case backlog. Also he said now just isn’t the time, budget-wise, to talk about building a new state prison – a suggestion he floated several years ago.
What we can do is pass laws that make Vermont safer, he said.
“We can’t allow bills that fail to meet the moment, and especially ones that move us in the wrong direction,” Scott said. “We hear from law enforcement, municipal leaders, business owners, and retirees about their significant concerns about rising crime.”
Read more here
Comments