Projo Article on Deficiencies of RI's Probation System

In a recent article, the Providence Journal reports an interesting (and disturbing) aspect of RI criminal legal system. The article describes the trajectory of a man out on probation, who was found to be in violation of its terms when arrested for a robbery he said he did not commit. Under the low standard "reasonably satisfied" (much lower than the stringent beyond a reasonable doubt criminal trial standard), the Court found it was reasonably satisfied that the peace had been disturbed and a crime committed, in violation of the man's terms of probation. He was thus sent back to jail. A few years later, under the beyond a reasonable doubt standard, he was fully acquitted of the robbery charge, but in Rhode Island, a clearing of guilt on the underlying charge does not mean automatic reversal of the probation violation decision. A person, despite the acquittal, can remain in prison for violating probation.

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