Latest probation reform effort moves forward in Harrisburg. Some advocates say it doesn’t go far enough to stop the probation-to-prison pathway

Reginald Smaller was on the Schuylkill Expressway headed home after a DJ gig about 2:30 a.m. when a drunken driver rear-ended his vehicle near the 30th Street exit in 2016. For the next three months, he lay at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center and then rehab, dealing with a long list of medical issues including traumatic brain injury.

But Smaller was also on probation. By the time he finally arrived home from MossRehab, he faced another serious problem: a bench warrant for his arrest, accusing him of not checking in with his probation officer.

Probation was originally designed as a second chance for those coming out of prison to reintegrate into society and move on with building a productive life, but it’s become for many a pathway back to prison.

Nationally, one out of every 59 adults is on probation or parole. In Pennsylvania, it is one in 37 adults, or about 100,000 people. The state has the fourth highest population under community supervision in the United States.

According to Reform Alliance, an organization that has been advocating for probation reform for years, the state’s lengthy probation sentences have trapped people in supervision without end. In June the state Senate approved a bipartisan reform bill and the full House of Representatives is expected to approve the legislation when it reconvenes in September.

The primary reason for the long probation time is the time tacked on for technical violations. The Senate bill would narrow the legal definition of technical violations and the circumstances under which people are returned to custody because of them.

Now, the list of potential technical violations is long: Failing a drug test, failing to notify your probation officer about a change of job or address, quitting your job or leaving school, failing to provide a DNA sample if requested, and failing to complete mandatory drug or alcohol counseling are just a few.

Before his accident, Smaller had successfully completed three years of parole with no violations and had started his two-year probation sentence on equally good footing.

“During the time I was in the hospital, my PO switched over. [The new PO] tried to reach me via mail but I didn’t see the mail for three months. I had three letters. The first letter stating a PO change and I had to report and come and see [the new PO]. The second one said I missed that date. And the third was a bench warrant for arrest due to non-compliance.”

“I was in a coma, coming out of accident ... In my state, nobody thought to reach out to the PO officer.”

Smaller hadviolated the rule of meeting with his probation officer when required.

“I was in a coma, coming out of accident, with a speech impairment and motor skill problems, a dislocated pelvis, seizures, a skull fracture, a broken jaw. During the time my mom and now ex-girlfriend were not really worried about letters. In my state, nobody thought to reach out to the PO officer,” Smaller said.

By the time he got to his PO officer to prove his story, despite having a record free of violations and having started a youth mentoring program, he still received an additional year tacked on to his probation.

“At first I thought my story was unique, but I heard of people getting technical violations for going out of [the] county, or for a traffic citation and then going back to jail.” Smaller said. “The smallest infraction of the rules can lead to serious disruption of your family or job life.”

Reform Alliance was founded in the wake of the Grammy-nominated rapper Meek Mill’s 2017 sentencing to two to four years in prison for doing wheelies on a dirt bike and violating his parole, sparking protests and the Free Meek Mill movement. Mill’s original sentence was for 11 to 23 months, but technical violations had extended his time under supervision to a decade.

» READ MORE: Supporters of imprisoned Meek Mill rally outside courthouse

In January 2019, a group of artists and activists, including Mill, Jay-Z, and businessman Michael Rubin, pledged $50 million to create Reform Alliance and work to make probation less onerous.

“Probation is designed for people to fail,” said Ron Alexander, who has been trying to get a stable job since his probation ended. “When I was on probation, they would not let me off because I owed them money.”

Alexander was 35 and a successful Philadelphian marketing consultant when he began his struggle with drug addiction in the early 2000s.

“At first, I made enough money to afford my habit,” Alexander said. Eventually, he needed more money than he earned and that lead to theft, a plea bargain, and ultimately house arrest for felony larceny. “I was on probation for one or two years.”

Alexander, now 72, served his probation time without any more problems and thought he was done with the system.

He is still trying to rebuild his career and life. He moved to Florida and attempted to get a job last year as a behavioral health specialist working with others struggling with addiction, but his background check showed he had a bench warrant in Philadelphia for owing $500 in fees. Failing to pay fines, fees, or restitution is also a technical violation.

“The only reason they didn’t come and get me is because Philadelphia didn’t think it was worth it,” Alexander said.

Erin Haney, Reform’s senior director of policy and law, said that about 100,000 Pennsylvanians are on probation and that the current legislation is “built from the stories of everyday people.”

The ACLU-PA agrees that the state’s probation system is antiquated but disagrees that the current bill, like earlier iterations of the bill, is the answer. It released a statement opposing the bill, saying that the legislation doesn’t go far enough. It “risks making probation worse in Pennsylvania by enabling ‘debtors’ probation,’ trapping people too poor to pay restitution on probation and by making it easier to incarcerate someone for technical violations, including for mere allegations of misconduct.”

Haney says that Reform takes opposition to the bill very seriously, but that organizations cannot allow perfection to stand in the way of progress. “Nothing in the bill makes the system worse,” she said. “To deny 100,000 people essential relief because it doesn’t go far enough is unconscionable.”