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Ohio AG Candidates Talk Police Relations and Bail Reform in Cleveland City Club Debate

photo of Dave Yost and Steve Dettelbach
STATEHOUSE NEWS BUREAU
Both candidates have opposed Issue 1.

At the City Club of Cleveland the candidates for Ohio Attorney General, Steve Dettelbach and Dave Yost, talked criminal justice reform. The discussion came after an audience member asked a question referencing "Serial," the hit podcast that in recent weeks has shined a harsh light on Greater Cleveland's courts and police.

"I haven't watched or listened to Serial," Democrat Steve Dettelbach said. 

But he said if he were Attorney General, he would advocate for bail reform.

"We don't have debtors prison in this country. People should be in jail because they're dangerous. Not just because they're poor," Dettelbach said.

Meanwhile, Republican Dave Yostsaid he would use the AG's office to improve police-community relations.

"Everyone that comes into contact with the court system or with law enforcement is entitled to be treated with dignity and respect," Yost said.

He said one way to do that might be a public education program that teaches people how to act in a police encounter. Neither candidate supports Issue 1, the ballot measure that, if passed, would reduce penalties for certain drug possession crimes.

2018_ohio_ag_debate.mp3
The full debate