The Minnesota Legislature passed changes to its probation system last week that will cap probation sentences at five years for most offenses, and it will apply retroactively, meaning those with longer sentences will be eligible to have their terms reduced.
That will be welcome news for Minnesotans serving long probation sentences, like Jennifer Schroeder. Reason profiled Schroeder's case earlier this year in an investigation into the problems with probation systems across the country. Schroeder was sentenced in 2013 to a year in jail for a drug offense—and 40 years on probation. As it stands, she won't be off probation until she's 71 years old, in October 2053.
