ST. PAUL, MN –Today Senator Warren Limmer (R- Maple Grove) and members of the Senate Majority released a letter for public comment on a proposed change to reduce sentencing guidelines for criminals who offend while in custody. The Minnesota Sentencing Guideline Commission (MSGC) is accepting public comment on the change and will hold a hearing on the change next week.

In the letter, Limmer wrote, “As Chairman of the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee, I am adamantly opposed to this proposal and find that reducing presumptive sentences while violent crime continues to rise is a reckless disregard for public safety. I specifically ask the MSGC to withdraw this proposal from consideration especially since those who support this measure have not articulated any plan for keeping criminals who benefit from their new policy from re-offending.”

Crime is on the rise in Minnesota. Violent crime went up 16% in 2020 and Minneapolis recorded its 90th and 91st murders this week, nearing its record of 97 murders set in 1995. Public safety consistently polls as a top issue to voters, and Minneapolis voters rejected an amendment to Defund the Police in November. The MSGC has already reduced all probation sentences to just five years for almost every crime.

The MSGC will review the change on December 16th at 1 pm in the Minnesota State Capitol Building, Room G-3, 75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Saint Paul, Minnesota 55155. Members of the public can provide input by emailing: sentencing.guidelines@state.mn.us