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Dear friend,
I'm excited to share great news out of Washington, D.C. The D.C. Council voted this week to expand their second look sentencing law. The new law would allow people who committed an offense before their 25th birthday the opportunity to petition the court for a reduced sentence after they've served 15 years. The current law allows people who committed an offense before the age of 18 to petition for resentencing.
The District has set a model for reviewing and correcting excessive sentences, and balancing punishment with mercy. The 50+ individuals who were released under D.C.'s existing second look law have also shown us that people can return home from prison early and be incredible mentors, advocates, and thriving members of their community.
At FAMM, we believe that we need more mechanisms to reconsider and curb extreme sentences, which is why we're excited to see the District expand its second look law, and why we launched our second chances agenda early this year, across all our work. Our agenda calls for state and federal lawmakers to enact second look laws, expand compassionate release for elderly and sick people, and for greater use of clemency. These initiatives will create more opportunities to review lengthy and unjust sentences and provide incarcerated people with a path toward a second chance.
We applaud the District for embracing second chances and are grateful to have worked alongside local advocates and the Council to push this reform forward. We're committed to supporting advocates in implementing the bill once it becomes law, and we'll be working in the new year to push our second chances agenda across the country.
Best,
Kevin Ring
President, FAMM
P.S. This victory was made possible in part from generous gifts that keep our work going. Please consider giving a gift to FAMM to support our Second Chances work. All gifts between now and Dec. 31 will be matched by a generous donor! [link removed] [[link removed]]
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