INDIANA – More than a decade after reforming its criminal code to reduce incarceration, Indiana lawmakers have approved over a dozen new crimes and sentencing enhancements that will take effect July 1.
The new legislation comes as the Indiana Department of Corrections operates at 94.38% capacity, housing 25,305 inmates, with one facility already over capacity. The state is spending billions on a new prison while struggling to pay costs owed to local county jails.
Key Changes
Fentanyl Penalties: Lawmakers increased sentences for fentanyl-related offenses in response to Indiana’s overdose crisis. In 2022, 72% of the state’s 2,682 overdose deaths involved fentanyl or synthetic opioids.
Resisting Law Enforcement: Enhanced penalties for resisting arrest, a charge that appears in thousands of cases annually.
Swatting: Falsely reporting emergencies is now a Level 6 felony under new legislation aimed at addressing the growing trend of “swatting” incidents.
Divided Opinions
Democratic Rep. Matt Pierce, who co-authored the 2014 reform bill, criticized the trend toward harsher penalties. “If you want to reduce crime, you can’t simply do the easy thing, which is to increase the penalty and then walk away,” he said.
However, Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council Executive Director Chris Naylor defended the changes, particularly the provisions related to fentanyl. He argued that violent crime increases, not new laws, are driving prison population growth, citing a 40% increase in murders over the past decade.
Systemic Challenges
The state faces a severe attorney shortage, with over half of Indiana’s counties considered “legal deserts” having fewer than one attorney per 1,000 residents. Prosecutors need 384 additional attorneys to handle current caseloads, according to Naylor.
The 2014 criminal code reform, signed by then-Governor Mike Pence, was designed to reduce prison populations and prioritize mental health and rehabilitation programs. Critics now worry that the recent legislative trend undermines those original goals as prison capacity reaches critical levels.
