The Sentencing Project releases new report urging "A Second Look at Injustice"

Long-time readers know that I have long been a supporter of laws and practices that facilitate taking a second look at long sentences (see links below).  I continue to be pleased to see more and more advocacy for second look sentencing efforts, and I am especially pleased to see this new 50-page report from The Sentencing Project titled " " Here is the start of its Executive Summary:

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. 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.”  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.  And, over 60 elected prosecutors and law enforcement leaders have called for second look legislation, 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.”

•  Criminological research has established that long prison sentences are counterproductive to public safety.  Many people serving long sentences, including for a violent crime, no longer pose a public safety risk when they have aged out of crime.  Long sentences are of limited deterrent value and are costly, because of the higher cost of imprisoning the elderly.  These sentences also put upward pressure on the entire sentencing structure, diverting resources from better investments to promote public safety.

•  Crime survivors are not of one mind and many have unmet needs that go beyond perpetual punishment.  Ultimately, a survivor’s desire for punishment must be balanced with societal goals of advancing safety, achieving justice, and protecting human dignity.

A few on many recent prior posts on second-look topics:

• NACDL releases model "Second Look" sentencing legislation providing for resentencing after a decade in prison
• An awesome reading list on "Second Look Sentencing"
• "Fighting for a Second Look: Efforts in Ohio and Across the Nation"
• "Prosecutor-Driven 'Second Look' Policies Are Encouraging, But Not A Panacea"
• "Judges should be able to take a 'second look' at prison sentencing" 
• "Taking a second look at life imprisonment"

A sampling of my prior writing on this front through the years:

• "Sentencing is Dang Hard... And So..."
• "Re-Balancing Fitness, Fairness, and Finality for Sentences"
• "Reflecting on Parole's Abolition in the Federal Sentencing System"
• "Encouraging (and Even Requiring) Prosecutors to be Second-Look Sentencers"
• "Leveraging Marijuana Reform to Enhance Expungement Practices"
• "Turning Hope-and-Change Talk Into Clemency Action for Non-Violent Drug Offenders"
• "Exploring the Theory, Policy and Practice of Fixing Broken Sentencing Guidelines"
• "The Enduring (and Again Timely) Wisdom of the Original MPC Sentencing Provisions"