Columbus, OH – The Buckeye Institute has been named a finalist for the prestigious Templeton Freedom Award, which is presented each year by the Atlas Network at its annual Freedom Dinner in New York City. The Buckeye Institute was recognized for its success in “fix[ing] a broken criminal justice system, law by law” in Ohio.

“We are grateful and honored to be recognized by Atlas Network for our tireless work on criminal justice reform. Since 2013, The Buckeye Institute has endeavored to build the nation’s best and most successful criminal justice reform effort at the state level. In just five years, Ohio has passed more, and more significant, criminal justice reform legislation than any other state in the country,” said Robert Alt, president and chief executive officer of The Buckeye Institute. “Buckeye’s public policy accomplishments and the left-right coalition we built to advance these innovative ideas have had tremendous impact in protecting the rights of the accused, effectively rehabilitating offenders, and reducing the cost of Ohio’s criminal justice system to taxpayers. We hope our unique model for criminal justice reform will serve as an example for other states to follow.”

In making its announcement, Atlas said of Buckeye’s work, “This small think tank in Ohio has been relentless in its quest to protect the rights of the accused and to save Ohio taxpayers millions of dollars. Buckeye’s efforts have blazed a trail to reverse Ohio’s growth trend in incarceration—by shrinking the state’s prison population to below 50,000, dramatically slashing the recidivism rate from 40 to 27 percent, reducing prison admissions by nearly 10 percent, expanding opportunities for thousands of people leaving prison, and redirecting $40 million to Ohio communities for the treatment of addiction and mental health issues. As a result, Ohio’s prison admissions rate has now hit a 27-year low. The Buckeye Institute’s innovative policy victories are ensuring that prosperity and opportunity are available to all Ohioans, who are now much freer and less likely to become inadvertently ensnared by the criminal justice system.”

The Templeton Freedom Award is named for the late investor and philanthropist Sir John Templeton and is awarded annually to recognize the most exceptional and innovative contributions to the understanding of free enterprise, and the public policies that encourage prosperity, innovation, and human fulfillment via free competition.

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