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John,
The Trump Administration’s escalating efforts to roll back local criminal legal reforms in Washington, DC, and elsewhere, are deeply at odds with national trends. Today, The Sentencing Project released an updated report [[link removed]] outlining how sentence review reforms—which allow courts to reconsider lengthy sentences—have gained traction in half of U.S. states. These reforms reflect research showing that extreme sentences are not an effective public safety solution.
The Second Look Movement: An Assessment of the Nation’s Sentence Review Laws [[link removed]] found that 25 states, as well as the District of Columbia and the federal government, have enacted a judicial sentence review process through legislation, administrative rule, or court decision—beyond the youth sentencing protections created by Graham v. Florida , 560 U.S. 48 (2010) and Miller v. Alabama , 567 U.S. 460 (2012).
The updated report includes significant reforms from 2025:
* Maryland will allow many emerging adults (ages 18–24) to seek sentence reductions after 20 years, impacting approximately 600 people.
* Michigan extended relief from mandatory life without parole from those aged 18 and younger to those aged 19 and 20, increasing resentencing eligibility to a total of over 800 individuals.
* Georgia joined Oklahoma and New York in passing a law allowing domestic violence survivors to petition for sentence review.
* Utah was added to the list of states with Prosecutor-Initiated Resentencing (PIR). To date, PIR has facilitated over 1,000 resentencings nationwide.
* Delaware expanded second look eligibility to individuals who have served at least 25 years and compassionate release to those aged 60+ who have served at least 15 years.
Political threats to overturn evidence-based sentence review laws are deeply at odds with the consensus outlined in this report and ignore the facts. Research demonstrates that people age out of criminal activity, and after serving lengthy sentences, their likelihood of recidivism is very low. We should continue to build—not destroy—a justice system that recognizes the human capacity for change and ensures that our laws reflect our values.
READ THE REPORT [[link removed]]
[[link removed]] Sara Cohbra
Second Look Network Director
Email: [email protected]
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