Attorney General Drew Wrigley’s push for stricter sentencing laws in North Dakota isn’t about making communities safer—it’s about politics. His proposed legislation, Senate Bill 2128, promises harsher sentences but ignores the steep financial costs and strains on an already overburdened corrections system. Studies show that such policies don’t reduce crime, yet Wrigley continues to sell them as a solution. Worse, those who challenge his approach face personal attacks, suggesting that for Wrigley, political gain matters more than sound policy.
Columnist Rob Port has been following this debate closely. In what may be a closing word before the legislature’s final decision on the matter he doesn’t pull any punches. Read full piece at Inforum.com.
SB 2128
A BILL for an Act to amend and reenact sections 12-44.1-01, 12-48.1-01, 12-48.1-02, 12-54.1-01, 12-54.1-03, 12.1-08-02, 12.1-17-01, 12.1-32-02.1, 12.1-32-09.1, and 39-10-71 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to transparent sentencing of criminal offenders, work release eligibility and conditions for criminal offenders, sentences for assaulting and fleeing from law enforcement officers, and sentences for preventing arrest; to provide a legislative management report; and to provide a penalty.
House Sponsors:
Senate Sponsors:
