Federal Advocacy

U.S. Senator Cory Booker and U.S. House Representative Karen Bass have introduced bicameral legislation to create a sentence review procedure for people serving sentences longer than ten years in federal prison. Inspired by the cases of Matthew Charles and William Underwood, the Second Look Act of 2019 would allow federal judges to consider petitions for sentence reduction after a person has served at least 10 years. The court must find that the person is not a danger to public safety and has demonstrated readiness for reentry, and that the interests of justice warrant a sentence modification. Nearly half of the federal prison population is currently serving a sentence of over 10 years.

State Advocacy

Advocates around the country are also organizing efforts focused on second look reviews. In the District of Columbia, a widely supported bill before the Council would allow people who received sentences longer than 15 years for crimes committed under age 25 to have their sentences reviewed after a portion of their term has been served. The District already allows such a review for people convicted under age 18.

Organizers in Alabama, California, Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania continue efforts to advance second look proposals for life sentences. State advocates are working to develop proposals for next year's legislative session to challenge life imprisonment.

In order to continue to incorporate the voices of incarcerated people in our Campaign to End Life Imprisonment, a grant from the Open Society Foundations has allowed The Sentencing Project to disseminate 2,000 copies of our new book, The Meaning of Life: The Case for Abolishing Life Sentences to people in prison, through higher education programs, lifer organizations, and prison libraries. We've encouraged people serving life sentences to share their thoughts and perspectives on these issues after reading the book.