Vindy.com hosts Issue 1 debate today

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

Ohio Issue 1, a proposed constitutional amendment on the November ballot, will be the topic of a live debate from 10 to 11 a.m. today on Vindy.com.

You can watch the debate live between proponents and opponents as it happens on Vindy.com in what is an Ohio exclusive this election season. The proposed constitutional amendment seeks to reduce criminal penalties for nonviolent drug offenders.

Supporters say Issue 1 will help reduce the number of people in state prison for low-level, nonviolent crimes and put the money to better use by directing savings to drug treatment and crime victims.

Opponents say possession or use of any amount of deadly drugs such as fentanyl and heroin will result in probation, lighter punishment than disorderly conduct and reckless operation as well as undermines treatment.

Asking questions of the panelists will be Vindicator Editorial Page Editor Bertram de Souza along with Rick Logan, an editorial writer, and David Skolnick, the newspaper’s politics writer.

Here are four guests:

AGAINST ISSUE 1

Ohio Supreme Court

Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor is the 10th chief justice and the first woman to lead Ohio’s judicial branch. Since assuming the state’s highest judicial office in 2011, she has led reforms in the Ohio judicial system, including improved access to justice. Her career spans more than three decades and includes service as a private lawyer, magistrate, common pleas court judge and prosecutor.

Mahoning County Common Pleas Court Judge John Durkin has served as a judge since 1997. He’s a Valley native and a graduate of University of Dayton.

PRO ISSUE 1

Shakyra Diaz is managing director, Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice responsible for building membership nationally, organizing, community building and coordinating efforts with the Alliance for Safety and Justice. She is a graduate of Case Western Reserve University and lives in Cleveland.

Stephen JohnsonGrove is deputy director for policy at the Ohio Justice & Policy Center. He has been part of several campaigns to draft and ultimately push through legislation to remove barriers for people with criminal records and to make the justice system more just. He was part of the team that wrote Issue 1 and is on the board for the Issue 1 campaign.