From The Sentencing Project:
Lawmakers and prosecutors have begun pursuing criminal justice reforms that reflect a key fact: ending mass incarceration and tackling its racial disparities require taking a second look at long sentences.
Over 200,000 people in U.S. prisons were serving life sentences in 2020—more people than were in prison with any sentence in 1970.1) Nearly half of the life-sentenced population is African American. Nearly one-third is age 55 or older.
“There comes a point,” Senator Cory Booker has explained, “where you really have to ask yourself if we have achieved the societal end in keeping these people in prison for so long.”2) He and Representative Karen Bass introduced the Second Look Act in 2019 to enable people who have spent at least 10 years in federal prison to petition a court for resentencing.
Legislators in 25 states, including Minnesota, Vermont, West Virginia, and Florida, have recently introduced second look bills. A federal bill allowing resentencing for youth crimes has bipartisan support.3) And, over 60 elected prosecutors and law enforcement leaders have called for second look legislation,4) with several prosecutors’ offices having launched sentence review units.
This report begins by examining the evidence supporting these reforms. Specifically:
Legal experts recommend taking a second look at prison sentences after people have served 10 to 15 years, to ensure that sentences reflect society’s evolving norms and knowledge. The Model Penal Code recommends a judicial review after 15 years of imprisonment for adult crimes, and after 10 years for youth crimes. National parole experts Edward Rhine, the late Joan Petersilia, and Kevin Reitz have recommended a second look for all after 10 years of imprisonment—a timeframe that corresponds with what criminological research has found to be the duration of most “criminal careers.” Continue reading >>>
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