INDIANAPOLIS — With the re-emergence of xylazine as a street drug that is doing quite a bit of harm to Hoosiers, lawmakers are working to get ahead of the situation by establishing a criminal code on how to prosecute cases revolving around it.

In the case of a bill doing just that, which passed the House and is now being discussed in the Senate, lawmakers are hoping to lay the groundwork for offenders using and dealing the drugs to be prosecuted.

Initially, the bill had bipartisan support as it would punish Hoosiers for simple possession of xylazine. That would result in a Class A misdemeanor, but if you are caught with it a second time after having been convicted it would make the second offense a Level 6 felony, which means prison time.

On Monday, state senators discussed an amendment brought forth by State Sen. Aaron Freeman (R-Indianapolis), which would punish the dealers of xylazine even more harshly.

Democrats seem to have been on board with the bill up to this point. State Sen. Rodney Pol (D-Chesterton), who in the grand scheme of things has been supportive of the bill, spoke against Freeman's amendment.

His concerns had to do with people busted for possession of xylazine who may otherwise not know they are in possession of it.

"A user could be guilty of possession without even knowing they are in possession of xylizine," Pol said to Freeman.

"You've just made a compelling case for every young person to never use drugs because you don't know what's in them," Freeman retorted.

Pol feels that the system of prosecuting people for possession of drugs is fundamentally flawed.

"The issue is is our criminal justice system, and the way our laws are written, it's like 'if you get caught with this, you are getting this'," Pol said. "That's not how things work today."

Freeman explained a few times that his amendment targets dealers, and that the overall bill, which Pol voted in favor of in committee, targets those in possession of it.

State Senate minority leader Greg Taylor took issue with the amendment asking why it wasn't brought up in committee. He feels Republicans are trying to skirt the rules of due process by trying to enhance the bill without following proper protocol.

The amendment ended up passing on a party-line vote in the bill's second reading. Since that amendment passed the bill has to go back to the House for approval in its new form.

The post State legislation targets emergence of street drug, xylazine appeared first on News Now Warsaw.

INDIANAPOLIS –Some Hoosier lawmakers want to set new limits on which criminals have the right to bail.

A resolution passed the Senate Corrections and Criminal Law committee Tuesday. Much of the support for it came from Republicans. It states that “a person who poses a substantial risk to the public is not entitled to release on bail.”

As it stands now, Indiana’s constitution only denies bail to those accused of murder or treason. It requires judges to offer bail in all other situations. The resolution was written by Senators Eric Koch, Rodric Bray, and Aaron Freeman.

“There are actually 31 states, the District of Columbia and the federal government where defendants of certain crimes do not have an express right to bail. We are in the minority,” said Koch (R-Bedford).

The Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council wants it to become law.

“All we’re doing is adding a few words. If the court determines that this is an individual who is potentially a substantial risk to the public, we’ll have the same type of hearing we normally have,” said Courtney Curtis, the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council Executive Director.

Opponents of the proposal raised concerns about what they call the resolution’s subjectivity and vagueness about who a judge may consider a public safety risk.

Sen. Greg Taylor, D-Indianapolis, the leader of the Senate Democratic caucus, said he worried the legislation would be used against minorities.

“My hesitation is … when laws change and there are subjective opinions that are allowed to restrict a person’s freedom, for some reason, the people that look like me end up being on the short end of the stick,” said Taylor.

Other critics of the resolution like Ericka Sanders, who started the Indianapolis nonprofit You Yes You Project, said it could paint people who have smaller crimes in a bad light and lump them in with more violent criminals. That project does a lot of work with incarcerated men.

“The fathers in You Yes You, this would affect all of them simply based on the grounds of that they all have a criminal background,” said Sanders.

The resolution’s supporters said they don’t foresee any misuse among the judicial system.

“There’s not a judge in Indiana who’s going to hold somebody without bail on a (low-level) misdemeanor,” said Sen. Aaron Freeman, R-Indianapolis.

To become law, it would have to go through two General Assemblies and a voter referendum before being amended into the state’s Constitution. The soonest voters would consider the proposal would be November 2026.

Next, the resolution will be reviewed by the full Senate.

The post Indiana proposal would expand reasons for denying bail appeared first on News Now Warsaw.