HB 1117 adds significant and disproportionate consequences to convictions for oftentimes very minor offenses. The bill would subject those Hoosiers convicted of rioting, criminal mischief, burglary, residential entry, or criminal trespass on state property to three-year bans for certain social support benefits or various types of public university tuition support.
Because we believe that juries and judges should impose individualized consequences for people convicted of crimes, the ACLU of Indiana generally opposes collateral consequences like the ones included in this bill. In this case, uniform imposition of three-year bans – regardless of the severity of the underlying crime – will result in unduly harsh punishment for too many Hoosiers.
Further, if passed, this bill will provide prosecutors with enormous leverage against Hoosiers charged with crimes on state property. It will allow them to treat people from disfavored groups, oftentimes protestors, differently from others who engage in the same activity, such as enthusiastic sports fans, by being selective about which charges to bring. It will also provide prosecutors with significant power to coerce plea deals to crimes not included in the bill by threatening defendants with three-year bans if they are convicted of one of the included crimes.
