Page 3 - Second Look Act News Today

This month marks the three-year anniversary of New York’s Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act, which was passed after a decade of visionary organizing by currently and formerly incarcerated survivors and our allies. The legislation is the first sentencing reform of its kind in the country. It allows judges to sentence survivors of abuse to prison terms shorter than required by mandatory minimums and, in some cases, to community-based alternatives to incarceration.

Human Rights Watch is an international non-profit organization dedicated to investigating and monitoring violations of basic human rights throughout the world, including in the United States. Human Rights Watch conducts investigations of human rights abuses in around 100 countries. Our US Program focuses on, among other issues, international human rights law compliance within the criminal legal system.

Criminal justice reform advocates are pushing for reforms that would redefine sentencing laws in New York, including eliminating mandatory minimums and allowing rehabilitating prisoners to ask for reduced sentences. But a rise in violent crime could hinder their momentum.

After more than two decades behind bars, a D.C. man is home after becoming the first to be released under the District of Columbia’s expanded sentencing...

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Resentencing Laws To Cut Terms Gain Momentum Across US By Sarah Martinson | May 16, 2021, 8:02 PM EDT More lawmakers and prosecutors are considering resentencing laws to decrease mass incarceration and address the over imprisonment of people of color, recognizing that extremely long sentences dont deter crime and disproportionately target minorities, according to a recent report. The Sentencing Project, a nonprofit research organization that aims to improve the U.S. criminal ju...

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 b...

New AP report concludes "Federal executions likely a COVID superspreader" This new Associated Press article details the conclusions of its investigation concerning the spread of COVID-19 in and around the federal facilities responsible for executions at the tail end of the Trump Administration.  Here is how the lengthy piece gets started: As the Trump administration was nearing the end of an unprecedented string of executions, 70% of death row inmates were sick with COVID-19.  Guards were ill...

Prison Policy Initiative sets out long list of "Winnable criminal justice reforms" for state systems Prison Policy Initiative has produced this effective ten-page document titled "Winnable criminal justice reforms: A Prison Policy Initiative briefing on promising state reform issues for 2021."  I count well over two dozen notable suggested reforms on the list, each of which comes with helpful links and additional information.  Check out the whole document, and here are two of the many sentenc...