GPS RESEARCH LIBRARY: Other states: review of long sentences, elder parole, presumptive parole and mandatory-minimum reform ============================================================ Georgia Prisoners' Speak — gps.press Generated: 2026-11-13 14:34:02 EST Research Date: 2026-11-11 Topic: Sentencing and release JSON: https://gps.press/research-data/other-states-review-of-long-sentences-elder-parole-presumptive-parole-and-mandatory-minimum-reform/?format=json SUMMARY ---------------------------------------- How other states handle second-look review of long sentences, elder parole, presumptive parole and mandatory-minimum reform. LEGAL FACTS (200) ---------------------------------------- - [confirmed] California Elderly Parole excludes Three Strikes and LWOP/death sentences California's Elderly Parole Program does not apply to cases sentenced under the Three Strikes law (Penal Code Section 1170.12, subdivisions (b) to (i), inclusive, of Section 667), or to cases in which an individual was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole or death. Tags: parole,legal,policy Sources: California Code, PEN 3055 - [confirmed] Louisiana 2017 Justice Reinvestment bills In June 2017, the Louisiana Legislature passed, and Governor John Bel Edwards signed into law, a package of ten Justice Reinvestment (JRI) bills with large bipartisan majorities in both the House and Senate. Date: 2017-06-01 Tags: policy,legal Sources: Louisiana’s Justice Reinvestment Reforms - [confirmed] Georgia Constitution vests clemency power in Parole Board Georgia Constitution Art. IV, Sec. II, Para. II(a) vests the State Board of Pardons and Paroles with executive clemency power, including reprieves, pardons, paroles, commutation of penalties, removal of disabilities imposed by law, and remission of any part of a sentence after conviction. Tags: parole,legal,policy Sources: codes.findlaw.com: ga const art 4 sect 2 ii - [confirmed] Mississippi Governor signs Earned Parole Eligibility Act (SB 2795) Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves signed the Mississippi Earned Parole Eligibility Act, Senate Bill 2795, into law after it passed both the Senate and House with bipartisan support. Tags: parole,legal,policy Sources: Governor signs law expanding parole eligibility in Mississippi; billstatus.ls.state.ms.us: SB2795.xml - [confirmed] Louisiana JRI retroactive release eligibility Due to the effective dates and retroactive nature of some of Louisiana's 2017 Justice Reinvestment Initiative reforms, some Louisiana inmates became eligible for release on or immediately after November 1, 2017. Date: 2017-11-01 Tags: policy,legal,reentry Sources: Louisiana’s Justice Reinvestment Reforms - [confirmed] Constitution allows two-thirds override barring parole for enumerated offenses Georgia Constitution Art. IV, Sec. II, Para. II(b)(2) permits the General Assembly, by general law approved by two-thirds of members elected to each branch in a roll-call vote, to provide minimum mandatory sentences and sentences served in their entirety for armed robbery, kidnapping, rape, aggravated child molestation, aggravated sodomy, and aggravated sexual battery; when so provided, the Board may not consider those persons for pardon, parole, or commutation during that portion of the sentence. Tags: parole,legal,policy Sources: codes.findlaw.com: ga const art 4 sect 2 ii - [confirmed] Mississippi SB 2795 approved by Governor on 04/22 The official Mississippi legislative history records that SB 2795, the Mississippi Earned Parole Eligibility Act, was approved by the Governor on 04/22. Tags: parole,legal,legislation Sources: billstatus.ls.state.ms.us: SB2795.xml - [reported] Louisiana Supreme Court struck down joint post-conviction plea statute in 2023 In 2023, the Louisiana Supreme Court struck down a statute that allowed a district attorney and petitioner to jointly enter into any post-conviction plea agreement to amend a conviction or sentence with court approval, ruling that the law unconstitutionally allowed a judge to reverse a conviction merely because the defendant and the district attorney jointly requested it. Date: 2023-01-01 Tags: legal,sentencing,policy Sources: Second Look Movement: An Assessment of the Nation's Sentence Review Laws - [confirmed] Swarthout v. Cooke: minimal due process for parole In Swarthout v. Cooke, the U.S. Supreme Court held that when a state creates a liberty interest, the Due Process Clause requires fair procedures for its vindication and federal courts will review the application of those constitutionally required procedures, but in the context of parole the procedures required are minimal. Date: 2011-01-01 Tags: parole,legal Sources: Cite as: 562 U. S. ____ (2011) 1 - [confirmed] Louisiana Act 280 habitual offender reform Louisiana's Act 280 made changes to better tailor habitual offender penalties to the severity of the crime, reducing mandatory minimum sentences for most second and third offenses and eliminating the possibility of life sentences on fourth convictions when the current and previous offenses met certain conditions. Date: 2017-01-01 Tags: legal,policy,sentencing Sources: Louisiana’s Justice Reinvestment Reforms - [reported] Michigan '650 lifer' parole eligibility after 17 or 20 years Michigan's '650 lifer' law provided that a person who has served 20 calendar years of a mandatory life sentence for the covered controlled-substance offense, and who has another conviction for a 'serious crime', is under the parole board's jurisdiction, while a prisoner without another serious-crime conviction is under the parole board's jurisdiction after having served 17 calendar years of that sentence. Tags: drugs,parole,legal,policy Sources: S.B. 281 & H.B. 4065: Enrolled Summary (8-13-99) - "650 Lifer Law"/drug Rape - [confirmed] Constitution grants Board elder parole authority at age 62 Georgia Constitution Art. IV, Sec. II, Para. II(e) gives the State Board of Pardons and Paroles authority to parole any person who is age 62 or older, to pardon a person subsequently determined innocent, and to issue a medical reprieve to an entirely incapacitated person suffering a progressively debilitating terminal illness. Tags: parole,legal,medical Sources: codes.findlaw.com: ga const art 4 sect 2 ii - [confirmed] Greenholtz: Nebraska statute created protected expectation of parole In Greenholtz v. Inmates of Nebraska Penal Complex, the Supreme Court held that the Nebraska parole statute created an 'expectation of parole' protected by the Due Process Clause, 442 U.S. at 11. Tags: parole,legal Sources: BOARD OF PARDONS and Henry Burgess, Petitioners v. George ALLEN and Dale Jacobsen etc. | Supreme Court | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute - [confirmed] NY Assembly bill A01283 sentence reduction application A New York Assembly bill (sponsored by Walker) authorizing certain persons confined in institutions operated by the department of corrections and community supervision to apply for a sentence reduction is listed as the same as Senate Bill S00158. Date: 2026-01-01 Tags: legal,legislation,parole Sources: Bill Search and Legislative Information | New York State Assembly, leg [3] - [confirmed] California parole statute at issue in Swarthout v. Cooke California's parole statute at issue in Swarthout v. Cooke provided that the Board of Prison Terms 'shall set a release date unless it determines that . . . consideration of the public safety requires a more lengthy period of incarceration' (Cal. Penal Code Ann. §3041(b) (West Supp. 2010)). Date: 2011-01-01 Tags: parole,legal Sources: Cite as: 562 U. S. ____ (2011) 1 - [confirmed] Louisiana geriatric parole eligibility at age 60 Louisiana law makes a person who has served at least ten years of imprisonment in actual custody eligible for parole consideration upon reaching the age of sixty years, subject to exclusions. Date: 2025-01-01 Tags: parole,legal,elderly Sources: Louisiana Revised Statutes § 15:15:574.4 - Parole; eligibility; juvenile offenders :: 2025 Louisiana Laws :: U.S. Codes and Statutes :: U.S. Law :: Justia - [reported] Michigan drug-lifer parole provision exclusions Michigan's drug-lifer parole-eligibility provision does not apply to prisoners sentenced to life for first-degree murder or for a violation of Chapter 33 of the Michigan Penal Code dealing with explosives and bombs. Tags: drugs,parole,legal,policy Sources: S.B. 281 & H.B. 4065: Enrolled Summary (8-13-99) - "650 Lifer Law"/drug Rape - [confirmed] Definition of serious violent felony: seven offenses O.C.G.A. § 17-10-6.1(a) defines "serious violent felony" as seven offenses: murder or felony murder, armed robbery, kidnapping, rape, aggravated child molestation, aggravated sodomy, and aggravated sexual battery. Tags: legal,policy Sources: Official Code of Georgia Annotated § 17-10-6.1 (GPS's copy of the Code) - [confirmed] Greenholtz: mandatory 'shall' created presumption of parole release Greenholtz found that the Nebraska statute's mandatory 'shall' language created a presumption that parole release will be granted when the designated findings are made, 442 U.S. at 12. Tags: parole,legal Sources: BOARD OF PARDONS and Henry Burgess, Petitioners v. George ALLEN and Dale Jacobsen etc. | Supreme Court | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute - [confirmed] NY Assembly bill A00127 (Fair and Timely Parole Act) not enacted New York Assembly bill A00127 (Fair and Timely Parole Act, sponsor Weprin) was referred to the Correction committee on 01/08/2025, reported and referred to Codes on 04/02/2025, and referred to Codes again on 01/07/2026; it has not passed the Assembly or been enacted. Tags: parole,legislation Sources: Bill Search and Legislative Information | New York State Assembly, leg [2] - [confirmed] Georgia Constitution grants Board of Pardons and Paroles clemency powers The Georgia Constitution vests the State Board of Pardons and Paroles with the power of executive clemency, including the powers to grant reprieves, pardons, and paroles, to commute penalties, to remove disabilities imposed by law, and to remit any part of a sentence after conviction, except as otherwise provided in that Paragraph. Tags: legal,parole Sources: Art IV :: Georgia Constitution :: Georgia Law :: U.S. Law :: Justia - [confirmed] Swarthout v. Cooke: no federal constitutional right to conditional release Swarthout v. Cooke held there is no right under the Federal Constitution to conditional release before a valid sentence expires, but when a State creates a liberty interest the Due Process Clause requires fair procedures for its vindication and federal courts review the application of those procedures. Date: 2011-01-01 Tags: parole,legal Sources: Swarthout v. Cooke | 562 U.S. 216 (2011) | Justia U.S. Supreme Court Center - [confirmed] NY Assembly bill A01283 referred to codes 01/07/2026 A New York Assembly bill authorizing certain persons confined in institutions operated by the department of corrections and community supervision to apply for a sentence reduction was referred to codes again on 01/07/2026. Date: 2026-01-07 Tags: legal,legislation Sources: Bill Search and Legislative Information | New York State Assembly, leg [3] - [confirmed] California Elderly Parole Program eligibility: age 50, 20 years served California's Elderly Parole Program, Penal Code section 3055, makes any inmate 50 years of age or older who has served a minimum of 20 years of continuous incarceration on their current sentence eligible for parole suitability review by the Board of Parole Hearings. Date: 2025-01-01 Tags: legal,parole,policy Sources: California Penal Code § 3055 (2025) - [confirmed] Swarthout v. Cooke: adequate process when heard and given reasons In Swarthout v. Cooke, the Supreme Court held that a prisoner subject to a parole statute similar to California's 'received adequate process when he was allowed an opportunity to be heard and was provided a statement of the reasons why' parole was denied. Date: 2011-01-01 Tags: parole,legal Sources: Cite as: 562 U. S. ____ (2011) 1 - [confirmed] Louisiana geriatric parole exclusions Louisiana's geriatric parole provision excludes offenders convicted of a crime of violence or a sex offense, regardless of the date of conviction. Date: 2025-01-01 Tags: parole,legal Sources: Louisiana Revised Statutes § 15:15:574.4 - Parole; eligibility; juvenile offenders :: 2025 Louisiana Laws :: U.S. Codes and Statutes :: U.S. Law :: Justia - [reported] Michigan HB 5377 introduced by Rep. Klint Kesto On 1/10/2018, Michigan House Bill 5377 was introduced by Representative Klint Kesto. Date: 2018-01-10 Tags: legal,policy Sources: House Bill 5377 of 2018 (Public Act 339 of 2018) - Michigan Legislature - [confirmed] Ten-year mandatory minimum for armed robbery and kidnapping (victim 14+) O.C.G.A. § 17-10-6.1(b)(1) requires a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of ten years, with no portion suspended, stayed, probated, deferred, or withheld, for a person convicted of kidnapping involving a victim 14 or older or armed robbery, except as provided in subsection (e). Tags: legal,policy Sources: Official Code of Georgia Annotated § 17-10-6.1 (GPS's copy of the Code) - [confirmed] Montana parole statute text at issue in Allen (Mont. Code Ann. § 46-23-201(1) (1985)) The Montana parole statute at issue in Board of Pardons v. Allen, Mont. Code Ann. § 46-23-201(1) (1985), provided that 'the board shall release on parole . . . any person confined in the Montana state prison or the women's correction center . . . when in its opinion there is reasonable probability that the prisoner can be released without detriment to the prisoner or to the community.' Date: 1985-01-01 Tags: parole,legal Sources: BOARD OF PARDONS and Henry Burgess, Petitioners v. George ALLEN and Dale Jacobsen etc. | Supreme Court | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute - [confirmed] Georgia Constitution allows mandatory minimums for certain violent crimes The Georgia Constitution allows the General Assembly, by general law approved by two-thirds of the members elected to each branch in a roll-call vote, to provide for minimum mandatory sentences and sentences required to be served in their entirety for armed robbery, kidnapping, rape, aggravated child molestation, aggravated sodomy, or aggravated sexual battery, and when so provided the Board shall not have authority to consider such persons for pardon, parole, or commutation during that portion of the sentence. Tags: legal,parole,policy Sources: Art IV :: Georgia Constitution :: Georgia Law :: U.S. Law :: Justia - [confirmed] Swarthout v. Cooke: minimal parole process due Swarthout v. Cooke held that in the parole context the process due is minimal: an opportunity to be heard and a statement of reasons for denial, citing Greenholtz, 442 U.S. at 16, and stating 'the Constitution does not require more.' Date: 2011-01-01 Tags: parole,legal Sources: Swarthout v. Cooke | 562 U.S. 216 (2011) | Justia U.S. Supreme Court Center - [confirmed] NY Assembly bill A3475A elder parole provisions Assembly bill A3475A (same as S00015-A) provides that a person 55 or older who has served at least 15 years of a sentence shall have an interview with the Board of Parole within 60 days of their 55th birthday or the last day of the 15th year of their sentence, whichever is later, and if release is not granted shall have a subsequent interview no more than 24 months later. Date: 2021-01-01 Tags: legal,legislation,parole Sources: Bill Search and Legislative Information | New York State Assembly, leg [4] - [confirmed] Court-ordered Elderly Parole Program eligibility: age 60, 25 years served California's court-ordered Elderly Parole Program (Plata/Coleman) sets eligibility at inmates who are sixty years of age or older and have served a minimum of twenty-five years of their sentence. Date: 2014-01-01 Tags: legal,parole,policy Sources: Elderly Parole Fact Sheet - [reported] HB 1269 sponsors in Oklahoma Legislature Oklahoma's HB 1269, which applied sentencing changes retroactively and spurred the slate of commutations, was authored by Rep. Jon Echols (R-OKC), Rep. Jason Dunnington (D-OKC) and Sen. Stephanie Bice (R-OKC). Tags: legislation,policy Sources: 'The will of the people': Stitt to sign record 527 commutations - [confirmed] Louisiana administrative parole release conditions Louisiana's administrative parole provision states that an eligible offender shall be released on administrative parole on the offender's parole eligibility date without a hearing before the committee if all specified conditions are met. Date: 2017-01-01 Tags: parole,legal Sources: 2017 Regular Session ENROLLED - [confirmed] Serious violent felony sentences not reducible by parole O.C.G.A. § 17-10-6.1(f) provides that any sentence imposed under the section shall not be reduced by earned time, early release, work release, leave, or other sentence-reducing measures, or by any form of pardon, parole, or commutation by the State Board of Pardons and Paroles; during the final year of incarceration the defendant is eligible to be considered for a Department of Corrections transitional center or work release program. Tags: parole,legal,policy,reentry Sources: Official Code of Georgia Annotated § 17-10-6.1 (GPS's copy of the Code) - [confirmed] Montana statute: parole only for best interests of society, not clemency The Montana parole statute at issue in Allen also provided that '[a] parole shall be ordered only for the best interests of society and not as an award of clemency or a reduction of sentence or pardon' and that '[a] prisoner shall be placed on parole only when the board believes that he is able and willing to fulfill the obligations of a law-abiding citizen.' Date: 1985-01-01 Tags: parole,legal Sources: BOARD OF PARDONS and Henry Burgess, Petitioners v. George ALLEN and Dale Jacobsen etc. | Supreme Court | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute - [confirmed] Freeman v. State: life without parole does not impinge on Board authority The Supreme Court of Georgia held in Freeman v. State that '[t]he passage by the legislature of a statute providing for a sentence of life without parole, like the passage of legislation establishing the death penalty, does not impinge on the authority of the Board but, rather, renders the defendant ineligible for parole in the first instance,' and the court adheres to that holding that the legislature's power to prescribe punishment for crime includes the power to make ineligibility for parole part of the punishment. Date: 1998-01-01 Tags: legal,parole Sources: MOORE v. RAY (1998) | FindLaw - [reported] Second Chance Act elderly home detention pilot eligibility exclusions The Second Chance Act pilot program directed BOP to conduct the elderly home detention pilot during fiscal years 2009 and 2010, excluding inmates with a life sentence or a history of violence, espionage, sex offenses, or acts connected with terrorism. Tags: policy,legal,reentry Sources: Office of the Inspector General - [confirmed] NY Assembly bill A3475A failed to pass Bill A03475's last recorded action was being amended and recommitted to the Correction committee on 04/26, after being referred to Correction on 01/26 of the same year -- it never passed the Assembly. Date: 2021-01-01 Tags: legal,legislation Sources: Bill Search and Legislative Information | New York State Assembly, leg [4] - [confirmed] AB 3234 lowered Elderly Parole age to 50 and years served to 20 California's AB 3234 lowered the statutory Elderly Parole Program's age/years-served threshold to individuals 50 years or older who have served 20 years or more of continuous incarceration. Date: 2021-01-01 Tags: legal,parole,policy Sources: Elderly Parole Fact Sheet - [reported] Oklahoma commutation power rests exclusively with Governor The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals held in Swart v. State that in Oklahoma, the discretionary power to discharge an offender who is otherwise under a lawful sentence rests exclusively with the Governor, citing Okla. Const. art. VI, § 10, and that any statute attempting to place this power in the hands of another branch of government is unconstitutional. Tags: legal,parole Sources: OCCA (okcca.net) - [confirmed] NY Elder Parole bill S2144 would allow parole review for inmates over 55 with 15+ years New York Senate Bill S2144 (sponsor Hoylman) would permit the Board of Parole to evaluate all inmates over the age of 55 who have served at least 15 years in prison for possible parole release, without mandating release, allowing a public safety assessment even if the minimum sentence is not completed. Date: 2019-01-01 Tags: parole,legal,policy Sources: NY State Senate Bill 2019-S2144 - [confirmed] Louisiana administrative parole case plan exception Under Louisiana's administrative parole provision, an offender who has met the specified conditions shall still be released on administrative parole if the case plan was not created for him or the incomplete case plan was not his fault. Date: 2017-01-01 Tags: parole,legal Sources: 2017 Regular Session ENROLLED - [confirmed] § 17-10-6.1 enacted by 1994 Sentence Reform Act O.C.G.A. § 17-10-6.1 was enacted by the 1994 Sentence Reform Act, Ga. L. 1994, p. 1959, section 11; that Act is cited as the "Sentence Reform Act of 1994." Date: 1994-01-01 Tags: legal,legislation,policy Sources: Official Code of Georgia Annotated § 17-10-6.1 (GPS's copy of the Code) - [confirmed] Board of Pardons v. Allen: Montana statute creates liberty interest in parole release In Board of Pardons v. Allen, the Supreme Court held that the Montana statute, like the Nebraska statute in Greenholtz, uses mandatory 'shall' language to create a presumption that parole release will be granted, and thus 'creates a liberty interest in parole release' protected by due process. Tags: parole,legal Sources: BOARD OF PARDONS and Henry Burgess, Petitioners v. George ALLEN and Dale Jacobsen etc. | Supreme Court | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute - [confirmed] Moore v. Ray upholds OCGA § 17-10-7(c) parole ineligibility for fourth felony In Moore v. Ray, the Supreme Court of Georgia held that OCGA § 17-10-7(c), which makes persons convicted of a fourth felony ineligible for parole, does not violate the doctrine of separation of powers, adhering to Freeman's holding that the legislature's power to prescribe punishment for crime includes the power to make ineligibility for parole part of the punishment. Date: 1998-01-01 Tags: legal,parole Sources: MOORE v. RAY (1998) | FindLaw - [confirmed] NY Assembly Elder Parole bill A02035 2023-24 session actions The 2023-24 session Elder Parole Assembly bill A02035 (same as S02423, sponsor Davila) was referred to Correction on 01/23/2023, reported referred to Codes on 05/24/2023, and referred to Codes again on 01/03/2024 -- it never passed the Assembly. Tags: legal,legislation,parole Sources: Bill Search and Legislative Information | New York State Assembly, leg [5] - [confirmed] Elderly Parole Program codified in 2018 by AB 1448 California's Elderly Parole Program was codified in 2018 by Assembly Bill 1448. Date: 2018-01-01 Tags: legal,parole,policy Sources: Elderly Parole Fact Sheet - [reported] Oregon joint petition for reconsideration of conviction or sentence Oregon's ORS 137.218 allows a person sentenced for a felony offense other than aggravated murder, together with the district attorney of the county in which the person was sentenced, to jointly petition the sentencing court for reconsideration of a conviction or sentence. Tags: legal,policy Sources: ORS 137.218 – Joint petition for reconsideration of conviction or sentence - [confirmed] NY Elder Parole bill S2144 never passed either chamber Bill S2144's recorded actions were referral to the Crime Victims, Crime and Correction committee on Jan 22, 2019, reporting and committing to finance on Apr 09, 2019, and referral to crime victims, crime and correction again on Jan 08, 2020; it never passed either chamber. Tags: parole,legal,policy Sources: NY State Senate Bill 2019-S2144 - [confirmed] Maryland Juvenile Restoration Act eligibility Maryland Criminal Procedure § 8-110(a) makes the Juvenile Restoration Act available to an individual who was convicted as an adult for an offense committed as a minor, was sentenced before October 1, 2021, and has been imprisoned for at least 20 years for the offense. Date: 2021-10-01 Tags: legal,sentencing,juvenile Sources: Maryland Code, Criminal Procedure § 8-110 | FindLaw - [reported] Michigan HB 5377 signed into law Michigan House Bill 5377 was approved by the Governor on 9/12/2018 and assigned as Public Act 339 with immediate effect. Date: 2018-09-12 Tags: legal,policy Sources: Act No. 339, 2018 PA 0339 [2]; House Bill 5377 of 2018 (Public Act 339 of 2018) - Michigan Legislature - [confirmed] Judicial departure from mandatory minimum on prosecutorial agreement O.C.G.A. § 17-10-6.1(e) lets the court, in its discretion, depart from the mandatory minimum sentence for a person convicted of a serious violent felony when the prosecuting attorney and the defendant have agreed to a sentence below that mandatory minimum. Tags: legal,policy Sources: Official Code of Georgia Annotated § 17-10-6.1 (GPS's copy of the Code) - [confirmed] Montana 1989 amendment changed 'shall' to 'may', eliminating liberty interest The Montana Board of Pardons and Parole's own history states that the 1989 Montana Legislature amended the parole statute, Montana Code Annotated § 46-23-201, changing the word 'shall' to 'may,' effective March 20, 1989, which eliminated the 'liberty interest' in parole recognized in Board of Pardons and Parole v. Allen. Date: 1989-03-20 Tags: parole,legal,legislation Sources: bopp.mt.gov: History - [confirmed] Hayward v. Danforth: judicial control of parole conditions violates separation of powers The Supreme Court of Georgia in Hayward v. Danforth stated that a judicial attempt to control parole conditions violates the constitutional provision regarding the separation of powers, citing Terry. Tags: legal,parole Sources: Hayward v. Danforth – CourtListener.com - [confirmed] NY Senate Elder Parole bill S09846 status The Elder Parole bill S09846 (same as A00514), sponsored by Cleare, has only been referred to the Crime Victims, Crime and Correction committee as of 04/08/2026 -- no further action, not passed, not enacted. Date: 2026-04-08 Tags: legal,legislation,parole Sources: Bill Search and Legislative Information | New York State Assembly, leg [6] - [confirmed] Plata/Coleman three-judge panel ordered new parole process for elderly inmates On February 10, 2014, the three-judge panel in the Plata/Coleman v. Newsom class action lawsuits ordered CDCR to finalize and implement a new parole process whereby inmates who are 60 years of age or older and have served a minimum of twenty-five years of their sentence will be referred to the Board of Parole Hearings to determine suitability for parole. Date: 2014-02-10 Tags: legal,parole,policy Sources: Elderly Parole Fact Sheet - [reported] California AB-600 authorizes court recall of sentence upon changed law A California bill (AB-600) additionally authorized the court to recall a sentence, on its own motion, at any time if the applicable sentencing laws at the time of original sentencing are subsequently changed due to new statutory or case law authority. Tags: legal,policy Sources: Bill Text - AB-600 Criminal procedure: resentencing. - [reported] Georgia Parole Board 90% policy ruled ex post facto A federal court (N.D. Ga.) held that retroactive application of the Georgia Parole Board's 1998 policy revision requiring specified violent felons to serve 90% of their time before a first parole hearing was unconstitutional for offenders whose crimes predated the policy. Tags: legal,parole,policy Sources: Georgia Parole Board's "90% Policy" Ruled Ex Post Facto - [confirmed] D.C. original IRAA (2016) allowed resentencing for crimes before age 18 D.C.'s Incarceration Reduction Amendment Act (IRAA), passed in 2016, allowed people convicted of serious crimes committed before their 18th birthday to apply for resentencing and required that applicants serve at least a minimum number of years. Date: 2016-01-01 Tags: legal,parole Sources: Waiting for a Second Look | Bolts - [confirmed] Maryland JUVRA motion procedure Maryland Criminal Procedure § 8-110(b)(1) allows an eligible individual to file a motion with the court to reduce the duration of the sentence, making it person-initiated. Date: 2021-01-01 Tags: legal,sentencing Sources: Maryland Code, Criminal Procedure § 8-110 | FindLaw - [reported] Juvenile Restoration Act enactment and effective date The Juvenile Restoration Act became law by gubernatorial veto override on April 10, 2021, and the Act took effect October 1, 2021. Date: 2021-01-01 Tags: legal,policy Sources: LAWRENCE J. HOGAN, JR., Governor Ch. 61 - [reported] Michigan parole guideline departure standard Michigan's parole-guidelines statute allows the parole board to depart from the parole guidelines by denying parole to a prisoner who has a high probability of parole only for 'substantial and compelling objective reasons stated in writing,' and prohibits departures based on gender, race, ethnicity, alienage, national origin, or religion. Date: 2018-01-01 Tags: parole,legal,policy Sources: Act No. 339, 2018 PA 0339 [2] - [confirmed] Byrd v. State: serious violent offender statute survives separation-of-powers challenge A statute governing the punishment for serious violent offenders does not violate the separation of powers doctrine of the state constitution, per Byrd v. State, 236 Ga. App. 485, 512 S.E.2d 372. Tags: legal Sources: Official Code of Georgia Annotated § 17-10-6.1 (GPS's copy of the Code) - [confirmed] Montana current statute uses permissive 'may' for nonmedical parole Montana's current parole statute now provides that 'the board may release on nonmedical parole by appropriate order any person' meeting the listed conditions, using 'may' rather than the earlier mandatory 'shall' construed in Allen. Tags: parole,legal Sources: 46-23-201. Prisoners eligible for nonmedical parole, MCA - [confirmed] NY medical parole ineligibility for first-degree murder Sections 259-r and 259-s of the New York Executive Law deem incarcerated individuals serving a sentence for first-degree murder, or an attempt or conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, ineligible for medical parole. Date: 2023-01-01 Tags: medical,parole,legal Sources: Medical Parole (doccs.ny.gov); New York Consolidated Laws, Executive Law - EXC § 259-r | FindLaw - [confirmed] Hayward v. Danforth: habeas court erred on separation of powers The Supreme Court of Georgia held in Hayward v. Danforth that a habeas court erred in finding no violation of the separation-of-powers provision of the Georgia Constitution where a trial court revoked the remaining portion of a sentence while the petitioner was in the legal custody of the State Board of Pardons and Paroles. Tags: legal,parole Sources: Hayward v. Danforth – CourtListener.com - [confirmed] NY Assembly Fair and Timely Parole Act A00127 status The Fair and Timely Parole Act Assembly bill A00127 (sponsor Weprin, same as Senate S00159) was referred to Correction on 01/08/2025, reported and referred to Codes on 04/02/2025, and referred to Codes again on 01/07/2026 -- it has not passed the Assembly. Tags: legal,legislation,parole Sources: Bill Search and Legislative Information | New York State Assembly, leg [7] - [confirmed] AB 3234 enacted January 1, 2021, lowering Elderly Parole thresholds On January 1, 2021, the California Legislature enacted AB 3234, modifying Penal Code section 3055 to lower the age of qualification for the statutory Elderly Parole Program to individuals 50 years or older and have served 20 years or more of continuous incarceration. Date: 2021-01-01 Tags: legal,parole,policy Sources: Elderly Parole Fact Sheet - [reported] Texas mandatory supervision statute creates liberty interest The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals held that the language of the Texas mandatory supervision statute does create a liberty interest in mandatory supervision release, and that under certain circumstances, absent certain findings by the Parole Board, the statute requires release, creating a legitimate although limited expectation of release. Tags: legal,parole Sources: txcourts.gov: 73580a - [reported] California AB-2942 allows recall and resentencing on DA recommendation A California bill (AB-2942) amended existing law to additionally allow the court to recall and resentence a defendant upon the recommendation of the district attorney of the county in which the defendant was sentenced. Tags: legal,policy Sources: Bill Text - AB-2942 Criminal procedure: recall of sentencing. - [confirmed] D.C. Code § 24-403.03(a) mandatory reduction after 15 years for offenses before age 25 D.C. Code § 24-403.03(a) requires the court to reduce a term of imprisonment imposed for an offense committed before the defendant's 25th birthday if the defendant was sentenced under certain provisions and has served at least 15 years in prison, and the court finds the defendant is not a danger and the interests of justice warrant a reduction. Date: 2017-01-01 Tags: legal,policy,parole Sources: § 24–403.03. Modification of an imposed term of imprisonment for violations of law committed before 25 years of age. | D.C. Law Library - [confirmed] Sandin v. Conner liberty interest standard In Sandin v. Conner, 515 U.S. 472 (1995), the Supreme Court held that a state regulation creates a liberty interest only when it imposes 'atypical and significant hardship on the inmate in relation to the ordinary incidents of prison life,' stepping back from the mandatory-language/mutually-binding methodology of Greenholtz-line cases. Date: 1995-01-01 Tags: legal,conditions Sources: Sandin v. Conner | 515 U.S. 472 (1995) | Justia U.S. Supreme Court Center - [confirmed] Maryland JUVRA court standard for reduction Maryland Criminal Procedure § 8-110(c) sets the standard that a court may reduce a sentence only if it determines the individual is not a danger to the public and the interests of justice will be better served by a reduced sentence. Date: 2021-01-01 Tags: legal,sentencing Sources: Maryland Code, Criminal Procedure § 8-110 | FindLaw - [reported] Michigan parole guideline development factors Michigan's parole-guidelines statute requires the Department of Corrections to develop parole guidelines considering the offense for which the prisoner is incarcerated, institutional program performance, institutional conduct, and prior criminal record, and allows the guidelines to additionally consider the prisoner's statistical risk screening and age. Date: 2018-01-01 Tags: parole,legal,policy Sources: Act No. 339, 2018 PA 0339 [2] - [confirmed] § 17-10-6.1 amended by HB 349 in 2013 The history of Georgia's serious-violent-felony mandatory minimum sentencing statute shows amendment by HB 349 in 2013 (Ga. L. 2013, p. 222, § 8/HB 349). Date: 2013-01-01 Tags: legal,legislation,policy Sources: Official Code of Georgia Annotated § 17-10-6.1 (GPS's copy of the Code) - [confirmed] Nebraska statute § 83-1,114(1) required release unless one of four reasons The Nebraska statute construed in Greenholtz, one section of which was § 83-1,114(1), provided that the Board 'shall' order an inmate's release unless it concludes that his release should be deferred for at least one of four specified reasons. Date: 1979-01-01 Tags: parole,legal Sources: Greenholtz v. Inmates of Nebraska Penal Complex | 442 U.S. 1 (1979) | Justia U.S. Supreme Court Center - [confirmed] AG opinion: Freeman no longer controlling after 1994 constitutional amendment A Georgia Attorney General opinion states that the decision in Freeman v. State is no longer controlling for purposes of determining the Board's authority to exercise parole power because of the amendment to the Georgia Constitution Art. IV, Sec. II, Para. II, proposed in 1994 Ga. Laws 2015-18 and approved in the November 1994 general election. Tags: legal,parole Sources: 95-4 | Office of the Attorney General - [confirmed] NY Assembly Elder Parole bill A00514 status The Elder Parole Assembly bill A00514 (sponsor Davila), amending Executive Law section 259-c, was referred to Correction on 01/08/2025, reported and referred to Codes on 04/02/2025, and referred to Codes again on 01/07/2026. Tags: legal,legislation,parole Sources: Bill Search and Legislative Information | New York State Assembly, leg [8] - [confirmed] Disqualified inmates still considered under original court-ordered criteria (60/25) People disqualified under the statutory Elderly Parole Program continue to receive elderly parole consideration under the criteria of the original court-ordered Elderly Parole Program, 60 years old and 25 years of continuous incarceration. Date: 2021-01-01 Tags: legal,parole,policy Sources: Elderly Parole Fact Sheet - [reported] Utah: sentencing and parole are separate powers The Utah Supreme Court in Padilla v. Utah Board of Pardons and Parole (1997) held that the courts' power to sentence and the Board's power to pardon and parole are two separate and distinct powers, neither of which invades the province of the other. Date: 1997-01-01 Tags: legal,parole Sources: PADILLA v. UTAH BOARD OF PARDONS AND PAROLE (1997) | FindLaw - [reported] Virginia Commission on Parole Abolition and Sentencing Reform created in 1994 In early 1994, Virginia Governor Allen created a Commission on Parole Abolition and Sentencing Reform and called a special legislative session to adopt its recommendations. Date: 1994-01-01 Tags: parole,legislation Sources: Senate of Virginia - [confirmed] D.C. Code § 24-403.03(b)(1) person-initiated motion for sentence modification D.C. Code § 24-403.03(b)(1) allows a defendant convicted as an adult of an offense committed before the defendant's 25th birthday to file an application for sentence modification in the form of a motion to reduce the sentence, making the statute person-initiated. Date: 2017-01-01 Tags: legal,policy,parole Sources: § 24–403.03. Modification of an imposed term of imprisonment for violations of law committed before 25 years of age. | D.C. Law Library - [confirmed] Sandin characterized Greenholtz as foreshadowing Hewitt methodology In Sandin v. Conner, the Court characterized Greenholtz v. Inmates of Neb. Penal and Correctional Complex, 442 U.S. 1 (1979), as having 'foreshadowed the methodology that would come to full fruition in Hewitt v. Helms, 459 U.S. 460 (1983)' -- the mandatory-language approach to identifying state-created liberty interests that Sandin then moved away from. Date: 1995-01-01 Tags: legal Sources: Sandin v. Conner | 515 U.S. 472 (1995) | Justia U.S. Supreme Court Center - [confirmed] Maryland Second Look Act eligibility The ACLU of Maryland reports that Maryland's Second Look Act allows individuals who were convicted of an offense that occurred when they were at least 18 and not yet 25 years old, and who have served at least 20 years of their sentence, the opportunity to petition the court for a sentence reduction. Tags: legal,sentencing Sources: Maryland Enacts Second Look Act, Offering a Path to Reconsider Long Prison Sentences - ACLU of Maryland - [reported] Michigan Governor Engler signed 650-lifer reform July 2, 1998 Michigan Governor John Engler, a Republican, signed measures reforming the 650-lifer law on July 2, 1998. Date: 1998-07-02 Tags: legal,policy Sources: Michigan Enacts Reform of "650-Lifer" Law - [reported] Minnesota sentence adjustment standard Minnesota's sentence adjustment statute requires the court to determine whether there are substantial and compelling reasons to adjust the individual's sentence, considering the impact on public safety, and the adjustment may not increase the period of confinement. Tags: legal,policy,parole Sources: Sec. 609.133 MN Statutes - [confirmed] 1994 Sentence Reform Act added § 17-10-6.1 for seven deadly sins Georgia's 1994 Sentence Reform Act (1994 Ga. Laws 1959 et seq.) added O.C.G.A. § 17-10-6.1, the mandatory minimum sentencing provision for the "seven deadly sins" serious violent felonies, declaring that those felonies require mandatory minimum sentences served in their entirety and not reducible by suspension, stay, probation, deferral, withholding, pardon, parole, commutation, earned time, or early release. Date: 1994-01-01 Tags: legal,legislation,policy Sources: 96-20 | Office of the Attorney General - [confirmed] Current Nebraska statute retains 'shall order release unless' language The current Nebraska parole statute still provides that whenever the board considers release of an eligible offender, 'it shall order his or her release unless it is of the opinion that his or her release should be deferred' for specified reasons, including risk of nonconformity to parole conditions or need for continued treatment. Tags: parole,legal Sources: Nebraska Legislature (nebraskalegislature.gov) - [confirmed] AG opinion quotes ratified constitutional provision on life without parole A Georgia Attorney General opinion quotes a provision ratified by the amendment to Ga. Const. Art. IV, Sec. II, Para. II stating that any general law previously enacted by the General Assembly providing for life without parole or for mandatory service of sentences without suspension, probation, or parole is ratified and approved, subject to amendment or repeal by general law. Tags: legal,parole Sources: 95-4 | Office of the Attorney General - [reported] Virginia sentencing reform objectives effective January 1, 1995 Virginia's sentencing reform abolished parole and adopted felony sentencing guidelines effective January 1, 1995, with four objectives: truth-in-sentencing, reducing good time so offenders serve at least 85 percent of their sentence, increasing actual time served for violent and repeat offenders, and diverting up to 25 percent of non-violent offenders to alternative sanctions. Date: 1995-01-01 Tags: parole,legislation,sentencing Sources: Senate of Virginia - [confirmed] D.C. Code § 24-403.03(e)(2)(B) bars LWOP on resentencing D.C. Code § 24-403.03(e)(2)(B) provides that when resentencing a defendant under the second-look provision, the court shall not impose a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole or release, implying the law reaches cases that originally carried life or LWOP sentences. Date: 2017-01-01 Tags: legal,policy,parole Sources: § 24–403.03. Modification of an imposed term of imprisonment for violations of law committed before 25 years of age. | D.C. Law Library - [reported] Georgia SB 440 sought adult trial for certain juvenile violent felons Georgia State Bill 440 attempted "to provide that certain juvenile offenders who commit certain violent felonies shall be tried as adults in the superior court." Date: 1994-01-01 Tags: legal,legislation Sources: Seven-deadly-sins law - Wikipedia - [confirmed] Nebraska Supreme Court: Legislature sets parole eligibility The Nebraska Supreme Court held that while the Board of Parole determines release on and from parole, fixing eligibility for parole consideration is within the province of the Legislature. Date: 2016-01-01 Tags: parole,legal Sources: Brian J. Adams, Appellant, v. State of Nebraska Board of Parole et al., Appellees. (2016) | FindLaw - [confirmed] NY Rockefeller Drug Law Reform signed April 7, 2009 New York's Rockefeller Drug Law Reform bill was signed by the Governor on April 7, 2009. Date: 2009-04-07 Tags: drugs,legal,legislation Sources: new-york-lawyers.org: guidetorockreform09 - [confirmed] California prosecutor-initiated resentencing presumption favoring recall Under California's prosecutor-initiated resentencing statute, when a resentencing request comes from the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Board of Parole Hearings, a county correctional administrator, a district attorney, or the Attorney General, there is a presumption favoring recall and resentencing of the defendant, which may only be overcome if a court finds the defendant currently poses an unreasonable risk of danger to public safety. Date: 2025-01-01 Tags: legal,policy,parole Sources: California Penal Code § 1172.1 (2025) - [reported] Utah SB0200 sponsors Utah's prosecutor-initiated resentencing legislation had Chief Sponsor Michael K. McKell and House Sponsor Karianne Lisonbee, both Republicans, in the 2024 General Session. Date: 2024-01-01 Tags: legislation,policy Sources: le.utah.gov: SB0200 - [reported] AB 600 (Ting) allows judges to recall sentences but lacks process for incarcerated people The California Committee on Revision of the Penal Code's annual report states that AB 600 (Ting) authorized judges beginning in 2024 to recall a sentence any time applicable sentencing rules have changed, but noted the law does not require the judge to reconsider a sentence and provides no process for incarcerated people to request resentencing. Date: 2024-01-01 Tags: legal,sentencing,policy Sources: clrc.ca.gov: CRPC AR2023 - [confirmed] Washington prosecutor-initiated resentencing statute Washington RCW 36.27.130(1) provides that the prosecutor of a county in which an offender was sentenced for a felony offense may petition the sentencing court to resentence the offender if the original sentence no longer advances the interests of justice. Tags: legal,sentencing,policy Sources: RCW 36.27.130 (app.leg.wa.gov); Certification of Enrollment - [confirmed] Colorado habitual offender sentence modification after 10 years Colorado law provides that a defendant sentenced as a habitual offender to twenty-four years or more who has served at least ten calendar years may petition the court for modification of that sentence. Tags: legal,policy Sources: House Bill 23-1292 - [confirmed] D.C. Code § 24-403.03(c)(10) youth culpability factor applies despite brutality D.C. Code § 24-403.03(c)(10) directs the court to consider the diminished culpability of juveniles and persons under age 25 and hallmark features of youth, which counsel against lengthy prison terms 'despite the brutali[ty]' of the crime, indicating the statute's factors apply even to brutal/violent offenses. Date: 2017-01-01 Tags: legal,policy,parole Sources: § 24–403.03. Modification of an imposed term of imprisonment for violations of law committed before 25 years of age. | D.C. Law Library - [reported] Minnesota prosecutor-initiated sentence adjustment authority Minnesota's prosecutor-initiated sentence adjustment statute defines 'prosecutor' as the attorney general, county attorney, or city attorney responsible for the prosecution of individuals charged with a crime, and authorizes the prosecutor for the jurisdiction responsible for the prosecution of an individual convicted of a crime to commence a proceeding to adjust the sentence at any time after the initial sentencing, provided the prosecutor does not seek to increase the period of confinement. Date: 2025-01-01 Tags: legal,policy,parole Sources: 1​ Minnesota Statutes 2025​ 609.133​ - [reported] Georgia seven-deadly-sins juvenile law passed April 1994 The Georgia seven-deadly-sins juvenile law was passed in April 1994. Date: 1994-04-01 Tags: legal,legislation Sources: Seven-deadly-sins law - Wikipedia - [confirmed] Nebraska constitution permits Legislature to condition parole eligibility The Nebraska Supreme Court held that the plain language of the constitutional conditions clause recognizes that the Legislature may place conditions on parole eligibility, and that the conditions clause confers on the Board the power to grant paroles for any offenses except treason and cases of impeachment, but permits the Legislature to prescribe conditions. Date: 2016-01-01 Tags: parole,legal Sources: Brian J. Adams, Appellant, v. State of Nebraska Board of Parole et al., Appellees. (2016) | FindLaw - [confirmed] NY CPL § 440.46 created for Class B drug offender resentencing New York created a new CPL § 440.46 for resentencing of some Class B drug offenders, with the procedure generally the same as that for Class A-I resentencing authorized by L. 2004, Ch. 738, § 23. Date: 2009-01-01 Tags: drugs,legal,legislation Sources: new-york-lawyers.org: guidetorockreform09 - [confirmed] California resentencing court may reduce term or vacate conviction Under California's prosecutor-initiated resentencing statute, the resentencing court may, in the interest of justice, reduce a defendant's term of imprisonment by modifying the sentence, or vacate the defendant's conviction and impose judgment on a necessarily included lesser offense with the defendant's concurrence. Date: 2025-01-01 Tags: legal,policy,parole Sources: California Penal Code § 1172.1 (2025) - [confirmed] Washington resentencing cannot exceed initial sentence Under RCW 36.27.130(2), if the court grants a resentencing petition, the new sentence may not be greater than the initial sentence. Tags: legal,sentencing,policy Sources: RCW 36.27.130 (app.leg.wa.gov); Certification of Enrollment - [confirmed] Connecticut compassionate parole release exceptions Connecticut's compassionate parole release statute allows the Board of Pardons and Paroles to grant release to any inmate serving any sentence of imprisonment, except an inmate convicted of a capital felony in effect prior to April 25, 2012, or murder with special circumstances in effect on or after April 25, 2012. Tags: parole,legal,medical Sources: law.justia.com: section 54 131k - [confirmed] D.C. Code § 24-403.03 legislative history D.C. Code § 24-403.03 was added April 4, 2017 by D.C. Law 21-238 (the Incarceration Reduction Amendment Act), amended May 10, 2019 by D.C. Law 22-313 (the Second Look Amendment Act), and amended again effective April 27, 2021 by D.C. Law 23-274. Tags: legal,policy,parole Sources: § 24–403.03. Modification of an imposed term of imprisonment for violations of law committed before 25 years of age. | D.C. Law Library - [confirmed] Maryland HB0853 Second Look Act sponsorship Maryland bill HB0853, titled 'Postconviction Review - Procedure to Reduce Duration of Sentence (Maryland Second Look Act),' was sponsored by Delegate Pasteur among other delegates. Tags: legal,legislation Sources: Legislation - HB0853 - [confirmed] Sultenfuss: Georgia parole system creates no liberty interest The Eleventh Circuit, sitting en banc in Sultenfuss v. Snow, held that Georgia's parole system does not create a liberty interest in parole protected by the Due Process Clause. Tags: parole,legal Sources: Stephen Sultenfuss, Charles McMulling v. Wayne Snow, Jr., James T. Morris, Mobley Howell, Michael... – CourtListener.com - [confirmed] Nebraska Supreme Court upholds life-sentence commutation requirement for parole eligibility The Nebraska Supreme Court concluded that the statute requiring commutation of a life sentence before parole eligibility properly exercises the Legislature's constitutional power to prescribe conditions for paroles, and rejected the claim that the statute was an unconstitutional usurpation of the Board's authority. Date: 2016-01-01 Tags: parole,legal Sources: Brian J. Adams, Appellant, v. State of Nebraska Board of Parole et al., Appellees. (2016) | FindLaw - [confirmed] NY Rockefeller Drug Law Reform effective dates New York's 2009 Rockefeller Drug Law Reform is now known as L 2009, ch 56, with parts effective April 7, 2009, June 6, 2009, October 7, 2009, and November 1, 2009. Date: 2009-01-01 Tags: drugs,legal,legislation Sources: new-york-lawyers.org: guidetorockreform09 - [confirmed] Delaware sentence modification for inmates 60+ who served 15 years Delaware law allows a person to apply for sentence modification if the person is 60 years of age or older, has served at least 15 years of the originally imposed Level V sentence, and the application is based solely on the person's rehabilitation. Tags: legal,policy Sources: Delaware Code Title 11. Crimes and Criminal Procedure § 4217 | FindLaw - [confirmed] D.C. Code § 24-403.03(g) prioritizes longest-incarcerated applicants D.C. Code § 24-403.03(g) provides that for applications filed by defendants for offenses committed after the defendant's 18th birthday, the court shall endeavor to prioritize consideration of applications from defendants incarcerated the longest. Date: 2017-01-01 Tags: legal,policy,parole Sources: § 24–403.03. Modification of an imposed term of imprisonment for violations of law committed before 25 years of age. | D.C. Law Library - [confirmed] Maryland HB0853 enactment status Maryland bill HB0853 was approved by the Governor as Chapter 96, and the bill's analysis included a Fiscal and Policy Note (Revised) and a Racial Equity Impact Note. Tags: legal,legislation Sources: Legislation - HB0853 - [reported] Mississippi geriatric parole eligibility Mississippi's geriatric parole provision makes a person serving a sentence who has reached the age of sixty or older and who has served no less than ten years of the sentence eligible for parole. Date: 2025-01-01 Tags: parole,legal,policy Sources: Mississippi Code § 47-7-3 (2025) - Parole of prisoners; conditions for eligibility; determination of tentative hearing date; completion of drug and alcohol rehabilitation program for offenders convict - [confirmed] O.C.G.A. § 42-9-42 creates presumption against parole In Sultenfuss, the Eleventh Circuit found that the Georgia parole statute O.C.G.A. § 42-9-42 creates a presumption against parole rather than a mandate to release, stating "[n]o inmate shall be placed on parole unt[il and unless the board shall find...]" Tags: parole,legal Sources: Stephen Sultenfuss, Charles McMulling v. Wayne Snow, Jr., James T. Morris, Mobley Howell, Michael... – CourtListener.com - [confirmed] Greenholtz: 'shall' plus four reasons creates presumption and liberty interest In Greenholtz, the Court held that the mandatory 'shall' language of the Nebraska parole statute, combined with the structure of its four specified reasons for deferral, 'creates a presumption that parole release will be granted' and this gives rise to a liberty interest entitled to due-process protection, while the amount of process required is minimal. Tags: parole,legal Sources: John B. GREENHOLTZ, etc., et al., Petitioners, v. INMATES OF the NEBRASKA PENAL AND CORRECTIONAL COMPLEX et al. | Supreme Court | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute - [confirmed] DC U.S. Attorney urged rejection of Second Look Act The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia strongly urged the Council to reject Bill 23-0127 pending further deliberation of the serious concerns it had identified, including whether sufficient aftercare resources are in place. Date: 2019-01-01 Tags: legal,policy Sources: U.S. Department of Justice, letter statement final liu to council re b23 127 second look act 04 23 2019 - [confirmed] D.C. Code § 24-403.03(c) requires consideration of U.S. Attorney recommendation D.C. Code § 24-403.03(c) lists among the factors a court must consider 'any report or recommendation received from the United States Attorney.' Date: 2017-01-01 Tags: legal,policy,parole Sources: § 24–403.03. Modification of an imposed term of imprisonment for violations of law committed before 25 years of age. | D.C. Law Library - [reported] Mississippi geriatric parole exclusions Mississippi's geriatric parole provision excludes inmates sentenced as habitual offenders, for a crime of violence, for an offense that specifically prohibits parole release, for trafficking in controlled substances, for a sex crime, or who have not served one-fourth of the sentence imposed. Date: 2025-01-01 Tags: parole,legal,policy,drugs Sources: Mississippi Code § 47-7-3 (2025) - Parole of prisoners; conditions for eligibility; determination of tentative hearing date; completion of drug and alcohol rehabilitation program for offenders convict - [confirmed] Georgia statutes differ from Nebraska and Montana in creating presumption against parole In Sultenfuss v. Snow, the Eleventh Circuit found that, unlike the Nebraska and Montana statutes, the Georgia statutes actually create a presumption against parole. Tags: parole,legal Sources: Stephen Sultenfuss, Charles McMulling v. Wayne Snow, Jr., James T. Morris, Mobley Howell, Michael... – CourtListener.com - [confirmed] Nebraska statute text: release unless deferred for four reasons The Nebraska statute at issue in Greenholtz provided: 'Whenever the Board of Parole considers the release of a committed offender who is eligible for release on parole, it shall order his release unless it is of the opinion that his release should be deferred because' of four enumerated reasons, one being that continued correctional treatment 'will substantially enhance his capacity to lead a law-abiding life when released at a later date.' Date: 1976-01-01 Tags: parole,legal Sources: John B. GREENHOLTZ, etc., et al., Petitioners, v. INMATES OF the NEBRASKA PENAL AND CORRECTIONAL COMPLEX et al. | Supreme Court | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute - [confirmed] SB 440 is Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 1994, not Sentence Reform Act Georgia's Department of Corrections states that Senate Bill 440 is the Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 1994, which gave the superior (adult) court exclusive jurisdiction over trial of juveniles 13-17 alleged to have committed the '7 deadly sins' offenses, not the adult Sentence Reform Act of 1994. Date: 1994-01-01 Tags: legal,policy Sources: 2018 sentencing legislation fact sheet - Digital Library of Georgia - [reported] Virginia enacted geriatric parole in 1994 Virginia enacted geriatric parole in 1994 as part of the abolition of discretionary parole. Date: 1994-01-01 Tags: legal,parole,policy Sources: Virginia State Crime Commission - [confirmed] DC Second Look Act proposed extending IRAA to crimes before age 25 Bill 23-0127 proposed, among other things, to amend the IRAA by extending it to defendants who have committed their crimes before age 25. Date: 2019-01-01 Tags: legal,policy Sources: U.S. Department of Justice, letter statement final liu to council re b23 127 second look act 04 23 2019 - [confirmed] ALI Model Penal Code § 305.6 creates second-look right after 15 years The ALI comment to Model Penal Code: Sentencing § 305.6 states the provision is new to the Code and creates a second-look process for sentence modification available to prisoners who have served exceptionally long terms, and that after 15 years of continuous confinement prisoners are given the right to apply to a judicial panel or other judicial decisionmaker for possible modification of their original sentences. Tags: legal,policy,parole Sources: § 305.6. Modification of Long-Term Prison Sentences; Principles for Legislation. - [reported] Michigan parole guidelines departure standard Michigan's parole-guidelines statute allows the parole board to depart from parole guidelines only for '[s]ubstantial and compelling objective reasons,' limited to specified circumstances such as a pattern of ongoing behavior while incarcerated indicating the prisoner would be a substantial risk to public safety, including major misconducts or additional criminal convictions. Tags: legal,parole,policy Sources: MCL - Section 791.233e - Michigan Legislature, MCL [1] - [reported] Mississippi geriatric parole hearing requirement Miss. Code § 47-7-18(1) requires a hearing before the Parole Board for inmates convicted of a sex offense, a crime of violence, or who are eligible for geriatric parole, before such inmates may be released on parole. Date: 2025-01-01 Tags: parole,legal,policy Sources: Mississippi Code § 47-7-18 (2025) - Conditions for release of parole-eligible inmates without hearing; hearing required under certain circumstances :: 2025 Mississippi Code :: U.S. Codes and Statutes - [confirmed] Sultenfuss rationale: presumption against parole plus unbounded official discretion The Eleventh Circuit en banc in Sultenfuss v. Snow held that Georgia's parole system does not create a liberty interest in parole implicating the Due Process Clause because the system contains a statutory presumption against parole and fails to limit meaningfully the discretion of state officials. Tags: parole,legal Sources: Stephen Sultenfuss, Charles McMulling v. Wayne Snow, Jr., James T. Morris, Mobley Howell, Michael... – CourtListener.com - [confirmed] Campbell v. State upholds mandatory minimum sentencing statute Campbell v. State held that the legislature acted within constitutional bounds in establishing maximum and minimum punishment and eliminating judicial discretion in sentencing certain serious violent offenders, rejecting a separation-of-powers challenge to Georgia's mandatory minimum sentencing statute. Date: 1997-01-01 Tags: legal,policy Sources: CAMPBELL v. STATE (1997) | FindLaw - [confirmed] ALI Model Penal Code § 305.6 directs legislature to authorize judicial modification after 15 years The ALI's Model Penal Code: Sentencing § 305.6 directs that the legislature shall authorize a judicial panel or other judicial decisionmaker to hear and rule upon applications for modification of sentence from prisoners who have served 15 years of any sentence of imprisonment. Tags: legal,policy,parole Sources: § 305.6. Modification of Long-Term Prison Sentences; Principles for Legislation. - [confirmed] Maryland JUVRA and SLA codification and eligibility The Maryland Office of the Public Defender states that JUVRA and SLA are codified at Maryland Criminal Procedure Article § 8-110 and allow most people who have served at least 20 years of a sentence for a crime committed when they were under the age of 25 to file a motion asking the court to reduce their sentence. Tags: legal,sentencing Sources: opd.state.md.us: decarceration initiative - [reported] Michigan parole guidelines development requirement Michigan's parole guidelines statute provides: '(1) The department shall develop parole guidelines that are consistent with section 33(1)(a) to govern the exercise of the parole board's discretion under sections 34 and 35 as to the release of prisoners on parole under this act.' Tags: legal,parole,policy Sources: MCL - Section 791.233e - Michigan Legislature, MCL [1] - [confirmed] Campbell v. State defendants asserted separation of powers violation In Campbell v. State, the defendants asserted that a mandatory minimum sentencing statute (OCGA § 17-10-6.1(b)) violates the separation of powers doctrine of Art. I, Sec. II, Para. III of the Georgia Constitution. Date: 1997-01-01 Tags: legal,policy Sources: CAMPBELL v. STATE (1997) | FindLaw - [confirmed] Mississippi SB 2795 signed into law Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves signed SB 2795 into law on April 22, 2021, after having vetoed a similar bill the prior year. Date: 2021-04-22 Tags: parole,legal,policy Sources: Celebrating Parole Reform in Mississippi - FWD.us; Governor signs law expanding parole eligibility in Mississippi - [confirmed] Sultenfuss dissent: legislature mandated use of parole guidelines The Sultenfuss dissent argued that the Georgia legislature, by enacting O.C.G.A. § 42-9-40, mandated that the Parole Board implement and use parole guidelines taking into account specified factors, and that the Board's position that it retains unfettered discretion to depart from the guidelines is at odds with that legislative mandate. Tags: parole,legal Sources: Stephen Sultenfuss, Charles McMulling v. Wayne Snow, Jr., James T. Morris, Mobley Howell, Michael... – CourtListener.com - [confirmed] New Jersey Byrne: 'shall ... unless' statute creates protected expectation of parole The New Jersey Supreme Court in New Jersey Parole Board v. Byrne held that N.J.S.A. 30:4-123.53(a) contains the same 'shall ... unless' phrasing as the Nebraska statute in Greenholtz, and that this statute creates a protected expectation of parole in inmates who are eligible for parole. Date: 1983-01-01 Tags: parole,legal Sources: NJ Parole Bd. v. Byrne :: 1983 :: Supreme Court of New Jersey Decisions :: New Jersey Case Law :: New Jersey Law :: U.S. Law :: Justia - [confirmed] OCGA § 42-9-45 parole eligibility restrictions for certain crimes A Georgia parole statute provides that except to correct a patent miscarriage of justice, no inmate serving a sentence for voluntary manslaughter, statutory rape, incest, cruelty to children, first-degree arson, vehicular homicide while under the influence or as a habitual violator, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, drug trafficking, or RICO violations shall be granted parole until serving on good behavior seven years or one-third of the sentence, whichever first occurs, and shall not be paroled for the purpose of regulating jail or prison populations. Tags: legal,parole Sources: Official Code of Georgia Annotated § 42-9-45 (GPS's copy of the Code) - [reported] First Step Act Section 404 motion authority The First Step Act authorizes the defendant, the Director of the Bureau of Prisons, the attorney for the Government, or the court to make a motion to reduce an offender's sentence under Section 404. Date: 2019-01-01 Tags: legal,policy Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission, 201900607 First Step Act Retro - [reported] Washington ESSB 5288 removed robbery second degree from three-strikes In 2019, the Washington Legislature passed ESSB 5288, which removed robbery in the second degree from the definition of a most serious offense, thereby removing the offense as a three-strike offense. Date: 2019-01-01 Tags: legal,sentencing,legislation Sources: Final Bill Report - [reported] Maryland abolishes juvenile life without parole WTOP News reported that life-without-parole sentences for juveniles were abolished in Maryland when the state's General Assembly overturned Governor Larry Hogan's veto, with the Senate overturning it on Saturday and the House following suit a few hours later, after Hogan had vetoed the bill on Thursday. Tags: legal,juvenile,sentencing Sources: Maryland General Assembly abolishes life sentences without parole for juveniles – WTOP News - [reported] Mississippi presumptive parole conditions Mississippi's presumptive-parole statute provides that other parole-eligible inmates 'shall be released from incarceration to parole supervision on the inmate's parole eligibility date, without a hearing before the board,' if the inmate meets the parole case plan requirements, no victim has requested a hearing, the inmate has no serious or major violation report in the past six months, has agreed to supervision conditions, and has an approved discharge plan. Date: 2021-01-01 Tags: parole,legal,policy Sources: SB2795 (As Sent to Governor) - 2021 Regular Session - [confirmed] HB 1176 passed unanimously, signed May 2, 2012 HB 1176, which enacted significant adult corrections reforms recommended by the Special Council on Criminal Justice Reform for Georgians, passed the General Assembly unanimously and was signed into law by Gov. Nathan Deal on May 2, 2012. Date: 2012-05-02 Tags: legal,legislation,policy Sources: dcs.georgia.gov: 2013 2014 criminal justice reform council report - [confirmed] New Jersey Byrne: two statutes combine to create liberty interest The New Jersey Supreme Court in Byrne stated that N.J.S.A. 30:4-123.51(j) and N.J.S.A. 30:4-123.53(a) combine to create the liberty interest in that case. Date: 1983-01-01 Tags: parole,legal Sources: NJ Parole Bd. v. Byrne :: 1983 :: Supreme Court of New Jersey Decisions :: New Jersey Case Law :: New Jersey Law :: U.S. Law :: Justia - [confirmed] Fulton County judge ruled 90% policy ineffective The Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles' FY2005 Annual Report states that a new rule replacing the Board's prior 90% policy came about after a Fulton County judge ruled that 'the Board's 90% policy in 1997 was implemented improperly and as a result is ineffective and has no force or effect.' Date: 2005-01-01 Tags: legal,parole Sources: Georgia board (pap.georgia.gov) - [reported] California AB 2942 (2018) chaptered as Chapter 1001, first PIR law California's 2018 bill on criminal procedure recall of sentencing (the first prosecutor-initiated resentencing law) was chaptered by the Secretary of State as Chapter 1001, Statutes of 2018, and approved by the Governor on 09/30/18. Date: 2018-01-01 Tags: legal,sentencing,policy Sources: Bill Status - AB-2942 Criminal procedure: recall of sentencing. - [confirmed] ALI members approved Model Penal Code: Sentencing final draft May 2017 Members of the American Law Institute voted at the end of May 2017 at the organization's 2017 annual meeting to approve the final draft of Model Penal Code: Sentencing. Date: 2017-05-01 Tags: legal,policy Sources: Model Penal Code: Sentencing, Proposed Final Draft (approved May 2017) | Robina Institute of Criminal Law and Criminal Justice - [confirmed] Unger v. State citation Unger v. State is reported at 427 Md. 383. Tags: legal Sources: Unger v. State – CourtListener.com - [reported] Mississippi presumptive parole exclusions Mississippi's presumptive-parole provision excludes from automatic release inmates convicted of a sex offense, a crime of violence, or those eligible for geriatric parole, who instead must have a hearing before the Parole Board. Date: 2021-01-01 Tags: parole,legal,policy Sources: SB2795 (As Sent to Governor) - 2021 Regular Session - [confirmed] HB 349 (2013) allowed judicial deviation from drug mandatory minimums In March 2013 the General Assembly passed, and Governor Deal subsequently signed, HB 349, which spawned a second round of criminal justice reforms; media attention focused largely on a provision allowing judges, in certain circumstances, to deviate from mandatory minimum sentences in some drug cases. Date: 2013-03-01 Tags: legal,legislation,drugs,policy Sources: dcs.georgia.gov: 2013 2014 criminal justice reform council report - [confirmed] N.J.S.A. 30:4-123.53: release at primary parole eligibility unless otherwise indicated N.J.S.A. 30:4-123.53, titled 'Release of inmate,' provides that an adult inmate shall be released on parole at the time of primary parole eligibility, unless information supplied in a report or developed at a hearing indicates otherwise. Date: 2025-01-01 Tags: parole,legal Sources: New Jersey Revised Statutes Section 30:4-123.53 (2025) - Release of inmate. :: 2025 New Jersey Revised Statutes :: U.S. Codes and Statutes :: U.S. Law :: Justia - [confirmed] Parole Handbook quotes constitutional authority for medical reprieve and elder parole A document hosted on the Parole Board's site (a Parole Handbook by the Southern Center for Human Rights) quotes the Georgia Constitution as giving the Board authority to 'issue a medical reprieve to an "entirely incapacitated person suffering a progressively debilitating terminal illness" or "parole any person who is age 62 or older."' Tags: legal,parole,medical Sources: pap.georgia.gov: parole handbook - [reported] First Step Act Section 404 eligibility tied to pre-August 3, 2010 sentencings Section 404 of the First Step Act provides that any defendant sentenced before the effective date of the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010, August 3, 2010, who did not receive the benefit of that Act's statutory penalty changes is eligible for a sentence reduction as if Sections 2 and 3 of the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 were in effect at the time of sentencing. Date: 2019-01-01 Tags: legal,drugs Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission, 201900607 First Step Act Retro - [confirmed] Illinois prosecutor-initiated resentencing if sentence no longer advances interests of justice Under Illinois law, at any time upon the recommendation of the State's Attorney of the county in which the defendant was sentenced, the State's Attorney may petition the sentencing court to resentence the offender if the original sentence no longer advances the interests of justice. Tags: legal,policy Sources: Title VI - Proceedings At Trial :: 2025 Illinois Compiled Statutes :: U.S. Codes and Statutes :: U.S. Law :: Justia - [confirmed] Unger v. State holding on jury instructions The Maryland Court of Appeals in Unger v. State held that the Stevenson and Montgomery opinions set forth a new interpretation of Article 23 and established a new state constitutional standard, such that defense counsel's failure to object to advisory-only jury instructions before those decisions did not waive the claim. Tags: legal Sources: Unger v. State – CourtListener.com - [reported] Mississippi habitual offender and drug trafficker parole ineligibility Under Mississippi law, offenders convicted as habitual criminals or drug traffickers are not eligible for parole, however they may petition the court for parole eligibility. Tags: parole,legal,policy,drugs Sources: Profiles in Parole Release - [confirmed] New York A00514 status: referred to Codes, never enacted As of the actions listed on New York Assembly bill A00514's own page, the bill was referred to the Correction committee on 01/08/2025, reported and referred to Codes on 04/02/2025, and referred to Codes again on 01/07/2026 -- it was never passed by the Assembly or enacted. Tags: parole,legal,legislation Sources: Bill Search and Legislative Information | New York State Assembly, leg [1] - [confirmed] Federal elderly offender home detention eligibility criteria The federal elderly offender home detention pilot program under 34 U.S.C. 60541(g) defines an eligible elderly offender as a Bureau of Prisons offender not less than 60 years of age who is serving a term of imprisonment that is not life imprisonment for an offense that does not include a crime of violence, sex offense, or certain terrorism/chapter 37 offenses, and has served two-thirds of the term of imprisonment. Tags: legal,parole,reentry Sources: law.cornell.edu: 60541 - [confirmed] Illinois resentencing statute has no offense-category exclusion The Illinois resentencing-by-the-People statute contains no offense-category exclusion provision; it provides only that a resentencing shall not reopen the defendant's conviction to challenges that would otherwise be barred, and that nothing in the section limits the Governor's power to grant a reprieve, commutation, or pardon. Tags: legal,policy Sources: Title VI - Proceedings At Trial :: 2025 Illinois Compiled Statutes :: U.S. Codes and Statutes :: U.S. Law :: Justia - [reported] Mississippi H.B. 585 (2014) passage The Mississippi Legislature passed H.B. 585 (2014) by a vote of 105-13 in the House and unanimously in the Senate, and Governor Bryant signed it into law on March 31, 2014. Date: 2014-03-31 Tags: legal,policy Sources: A brief from May 2014 - [confirmed] § 42-9-42(c) parole standard: reasonable probability of law-abiding conduct O.C.G.A. § 42-9-42(c) currently provides that "No inmate shall be placed on parole until and unless the board shall find that there is reasonable probability that, if he or she is so released, he or she will live and conduct himself or herself as a respectable and law-abiding person and that his or her release will be compatible with his or her own welfare and the welfare of society." Tags: parole,legal Sources: Official Code of Georgia Annotated § 42-9-42 (GPS's copy of the Code) - [reported] NY Elder Parole bill: 55+ with 15 years served may apply; 31 Senate co-sponsors State Sen. April Baskin became the 31st co-sponsor of the Elder Parole legislation, which would permit incarcerated individuals aged 55 or older who have served at least 15 years of their sentence to apply for parole; the proposal would not grant automatic parole or guarantee release. Tags: parole,legislation Sources: Elder Parole bill gains majority support in state Senate - City & State New York - [confirmed] First Step Act lowered age to 60 and service threshold to two-thirds The First Step Act substituted '60 years of age' for '65 years of age' and substituted two-thirds for 75 percent as the portion of sentence that must be served, in the federal elderly offender home detention pilot statute's definitions. Tags: legal,parole,reentry Sources: law.cornell.edu: 60541 - [confirmed] Illinois 725 ILCS 5/122-9 purpose of resentencing by the People Illinois's codified prosecutor-initiated resentencing statute states its purpose: by providing a means to reevaluate a sentence after some time has passed, the General Assembly intends to give the State's Attorney and the court another tool to ensure sentencing purposes are achieved. Tags: legal,policy Sources: 725 ILCS 5/122-9 - [confirmed] Maryland 2016 Justice Reinvestment Act signing On May 19, 2016, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan (R) signed into law S.B. 1005, the Justice Reinvestment Act, which was developed by the bipartisan Justice Reinvestment Coordinating Council and passed unanimously in the Senate. Date: 2016-05-19 Tags: legal,policy Sources: Maryland’s 2016 Criminal Justice Reform | The Pew Charitable Trusts - [confirmed] Greene v. Georgia Pardons & Parole Bd.: no liberty interest under § 42-9-42 A Georgia federal district court held that the current Georgia parole system, as reflected in O.C.G.A. § 42-9-42, does not require the board to grant parole based on specified findings and therefore does not give rise to a liberty interest; because the plaintiff had no liberty interest in parole, procedural due process could not have been violated and summary judgment was appropriate (Greene v. Georgia Pardons & Parole Bd., 807 F. Supp. 748, 1992 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17695 (N.D. Ga. 1992)). Date: 1992-01-01 Tags: parole,legal Sources: Official Code of Georgia Annotated § 42-9-42 (GPS's copy of the Code) - [confirmed] Federal elderly offender pilot program ran fiscal years 2019-2023 The federal elderly offender pilot program was scoped to be carried out during fiscal years 2019 through 2023. Tags: legal,parole,reentry Sources: law.cornell.edu: 60541 - [confirmed] NY Rockefeller Drug Laws enacted 1973 New York's Rockefeller Drug Laws were enacted in 1973 and mandated long prison sentences for many drug offenders; in April 2009 the Legislature instituted significant changes that eliminated mandatory prison sentences for some drug offenses. Tags: drugs,legal,legislation Sources: Division of Criminal Justice Services, baseline trends report - [confirmed] Elderly Parole Eligible Date: 25 years served and age 60 under 2014 order California's Elderly Parole Eligible Date for elderly parole hearings under the 2014 Three-Judge Panel order is the date offenders have served 25 years of incarceration and reached age 60. Date: 2014-01-01 Tags: legal,parole,policy Sources: Discretionary Parole in California November 2020 - [reported] Georgia geriatric parole: age 62, no minimum sentence, no exclusions The Virginia State Crime Commission's state comparison table lists Georgia's geriatric parole minimum age as 62 with no minimum sentence served requirement, and states that there are no exclusions set forth in Georgia's state parole statutes. Date: 2022-01-01 Tags: parole,legal Sources: Virginia State Crime Commission - [reported] D.C. IRAA initial and amended eligibility requirements The initial version of D.C.'s Incarceration Reduction Amendment Act (IRAA), effective in 2017, provided second look hearings for youth convicted as adults for offenses committed before age 18 and after serving 20 years, who had not yet become eligible for release on parole. In 2018, the law was amended to reduce the time required to be served from 20 years to 15 years and struck the parole-eligibility provision. Tags: legal,sentencing,legislation Sources: The Second Look Movement, Second Look Movement An Assessment of the Nations Sentence Review Laws [1] - [reported] Maryland 2025 amendment to Juvenile Restoration Act In 2025, the Maryland legislature amended its 2021 Juvenile Restoration Act to permit individuals aged 18-24 to file a motion to reduce their sentence after serving at least 20 years, excluding those sentenced to life without parole and those who committed particular crimes including the murder of a first responder and a number of crimes of a sexual nature. Over 600 persons are expected to be eligible for consideration under the new provision. Date: 2025-01-01 Tags: legal,sentencing,legislation Sources: The Second Look Movement, Second Look Movement An Assessment of the Nations Sentence Review Laws [1] - [confirmed] Illinois SB2129 authorizes prosecutor-initiated resentencing Illinois's prosecutor-initiated resentencing law authorizes the State's Attorney to petition the sentencing court to resentence an offender if the original sentence no longer advances the interests of justice, and allows the court to resentence on that same finding. Tags: legal,policy Sources: SB2129 Enrolled LRB102 16629 KMF 22029 b - [confirmed] Maryland safety valve retroactivity Maryland's Justice Reinvestment Act allows the state's 'safety valve,' which enables judges to sentence below mandatory minimum levels if certain conditions are met, to be applied retroactively, permitting inmates serving mandatory minimums for drug offenses to apply to have their sentences reviewed. Date: 2016-01-01 Tags: legal,sentencing,drugs Sources: Maryland’s 2016 Criminal Justice Reform | The Pew Charitable Trusts - [confirmed] § 16-13-31(g)(2)(A) criteria for departing from drug-trafficking mandatory minimum O.C.G.A. § 16-13-31(g)(2)(A) lets the sentencing court, in its discretion, depart from the mandatory minimum drug-trafficking sentence if the defendant was not a leader of the criminal conduct, did not possess or use a firearm, dangerous weapon, or hazardous object during the crime, the conduct did not result in death or serious bodily injury to a non-participant, the defendant has no prior felony conviction, and the interests of justice will not be served by the mandatory minimum. Tags: legal,drugs,policy Sources: Official Code of Georgia Annotated § 16-13-31 (GPS's copy of the Code) - [confirmed] Federal compassionate release: age 70 and 30 years served under 3559(c) Federal compassionate release law allows sentence reduction where the defendant is at least seventy years of age and has served at least thirty years in prison pursuant to a sentence imposed under section 3559(c). Tags: legal,parole,reentry Sources: law.cornell.edu: 3582 - [confirmed] NY Class B drug offender resentencing eligibility effective October 2009 Effective October 2009, an eligible New York class B felony drug offender committed to prison with an indeterminate sentence greater than 1-3 years can apply to be resentenced to a determinate term in accordance with the new sentence ranges. Date: 2009-10-01 Tags: drugs,legal,legislation Sources: Drug Law Reform - NY DCJS - [reported] Louisiana geriatric parole: age 45 with 20 years, or 60 with 10 years The Virginia State Crime Commission's state comparison table lists Louisiana's geriatric parole minimum age/sentence-served requirements as 45 years old with 20 years served, and 60 years old with 10 years served, with an exclusion for crime of violence and felony sex offense. Date: 2022-01-01 Tags: parole,legal Sources: Virginia State Crime Commission - [confirmed] Illinois resentencing statute allows consideration of disciplinary and rehabilitation record Illinois's prosecutor-initiated resentencing statute lets the court consider the inmate's disciplinary record and record of rehabilitation while incarcerated as a postconviction factor in deciding whether to resentence. Tags: legal,policy Sources: SB2129 Enrolled LRB102 16629 KMF 22029 b - [confirmed] § 16-13-31(g)(3) departure on prosecutorial agreement O.C.G.A. § 16-13-31(g)(3) also lets the sentencing court, in its discretion, depart from the drug-trafficking mandatory minimum sentence when the prosecuting attorney and the defendant have agreed to a sentence below that mandatory minimum. Tags: legal,drugs,policy Sources: Official Code of Georgia Annotated § 16-13-31 (GPS's copy of the Code) - [reported] Six states have prosecutor-initiated resentencing laws as of 2024 As of 2024, in addition to California, five other states - Washington, Oregon, Illinois, Minnesota and Utah - have prosecutor-initiated resentencing (PIR) laws, and in the prior three years PIR legislation had been introduced in six other states - Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, and others. Date: 2024-01-01 Tags: legal,policy,parole Sources: Second Look Movement: An Assessment of the Nation's Sentence Review Laws - [reported] Maryland geriatric parole: age 60 with 15 years The Virginia State Crime Commission's state comparison table lists Maryland's geriatric parole minimum requirements as age 60 with 15 years served, with an exclusion for a crime requiring sex offender registration. Date: 2022-01-01 Tags: parole,legal Sources: Virginia State Crime Commission - [confirmed] Louisiana elderly parole eligibility at age 60 after 10 years Louisiana law makes a person committed to the Department of Public Safety and Corrections who has served at least ten years of the term of imprisonment in actual custody eligible for parole consideration upon reaching age sixty, provided the offender has not been convicted of a crime of violence or a sex offense. Tags: parole,legal Sources: Louisiana Laws - Louisiana State Legislature - [confirmed] § 16-13-31(g) enacted by HB 1176 (2012), amended by HB 349 (2013) The history of O.C.G.A. § 16-13-31(g) shows the subsection was enacted by Ga. L. 2012, p. 899, § 3-8, under HB 1176, and amended by Ga. L. 2013, p. 222, § 4, under HB 349. Tags: legal,legislation,drugs Sources: Official Code of Georgia Annotated § 16-13-31 (GPS's copy of the Code) - [reported] Colorado 2023 judicial modification for habitual offenders sentenced to 24+ years The Sentencing Project's report lists Colorado's mechanism as a 'Review for Lengthy Habitual Offender Sentences' and states that in 2023 Colorado enacted a judicial modification opportunity for those convicted under the habitual offender laws who have been sentenced to 24 years or more, which is categorized separately from the report's 'Prosecutor-Initiated Resentencing' category of California, Illinois, Minnesota, Oregon, Washington, and Utah. Date: 2023-01-01 Tags: legal,policy,parole Sources: Second Look Movement: An Assessment of the Nation's Sentence Review Laws - [reported] Mississippi geriatric parole: age 60, 10 years or one-fourth of sentence The Virginia State Crime Commission's state comparison table lists Mississippi's geriatric parole minimum requirements as age 60 with 10 years served and a minimum of one-fourth of the total sentence imposed, with exclusions for habitual offender, crime of violence, trafficking in controlled substance, and felony sex offense. Date: 2022-01-01 Tags: parole,legal Sources: Virginia State Crime Commission - [reported] D.C. age-based second look statute The District of Columbia currently has the most expansive age-based second look judicial review statute in the country. The second look law permits an individual to file a reconsideration of sentence if the offense occurred before the individual's 25th birthday and after 15 years of imprisonment. Date: 2025-01-01 Tags: legal,sentencing,policy Sources: The Second Look Movement, Second Look Movement An Assessment of the Nations Sentence Review Laws [1] - [reported] Louisiana Supreme Court struck down post-conviction plea agreement statute The Louisiana Supreme Court struck down a Louisiana statute intended to make it easier for prosecutors to seek relief for individuals serving unduly harsh sentences, which had allowed a district attorney and defendant to jointly enter a post-conviction plea agreement with approval of the district court. Tags: legal,policy Sources: Louisiana Supreme Court Makes It Harder to Reduce Unjust Sentences | State Court Report - [confirmed] Maryland JRA eliminated certain drug mandatory minimums In Maryland, in 2016 the Maryland General Assembly enacted, and the Governor signed, the Justice Reinvestment Act (JRA), which, among other things, eliminated certain mandatory minimum sentences for persons convicted as subsequent offenders of certain drug offenses. Date: 2016-01-01 Tags: legal,sentencing,drugs Sources: Circuit Court for Baltimore City - [confirmed] Substantial-assistance motion for reduced drug-trafficking sentence A Georgia drug trafficking statute provides that the district attorney may move the sentencing court to impose a reduced or suspended sentence upon a person convicted who provides substantial assistance in the identification, arrest, or conviction of accomplices, accessories, coconspirators, or principals. Tags: legal,drugs Sources: Official Code of Georgia Annotated § 16-13-31 (GPS's copy of the Code) - [reported] Oklahoma geriatric parole: age 60, 10 years or one-third of sentence The Virginia State Crime Commission's state comparison table lists Oklahoma's geriatric parole minimum requirements as age 60 with 10 years served or one-third of the sentence, whichever is less, excluding violent offenses and persons required to register as a sex offender. Date: 2022-01-01 Tags: parole,legal Sources: Virginia State Crime Commission - [confirmed] NY Elder Parole bill S454 provisions New York's Elder Parole bill would add new subdivisions 18 and 19 to section 259-c of the Executive Law: subdivision 18 would provide that a person 55 or older who has served at least 15 years of a sentence shall have an interview with the Board of Parole to determine whether they should be released to community supervision within 60 days of their 55th birthday or the last day of the 15th year of their sentence, whichever is later, with a subsequent interview no more than 24 months later if release is not granted; subdivision 19 would require the Board of Parole to report quarterly to the Governor, Legislature and public about the outcomes of elder parole. Date: 2025-01-01 Tags: legal,legislation,parole Sources: NY State Senate Bill 2025-S454 - [reported] Colorado geriatric parole: age 64 with 20 years The Virginia State Crime Commission's state comparison table lists Colorado's geriatric parole minimum requirements as age 64 with 20 years served, excluding a Class 1 or 2 felony, unlawful sexual behavior, crimes involving domestic violence, and stalking. Date: 2022-01-01 Tags: parole,legal Sources: Virginia State Crime Commission - [confirmed] Louisiana Act 280 retroactively modified good time release dates Louisiana Act 280 retroactively modified the earliest 'good time' release date for a group of individuals convicted of nonviolent offenses. Tags: legal,policy,reentry Sources: Louisiana’s Justice Reinvestment Reforms - [confirmed] NY Elder Parole bill S454 status New York Senate Bill S454, the Elder Parole bill, as of the stored page remains in the 'In Senate Committee' stage, and had not passed the Senate, passed the Assembly, been delivered to the Governor, or been signed by the Governor. Date: 2025-01-01 Tags: legal,legislation,parole Sources: NY State Senate Bill 2025-S454 - [reported] Texas geriatric parole: age 65, no minimum sentence The Virginia State Crime Commission's state comparison table lists Texas's geriatric parole minimum age as 65 with no minimum sentence served requirement; persons serving a sentence for an aggravated offense of a violent or sexual nature will be considered only if terminally ill or in need of long-term care. Date: 2022-01-01 Tags: parole,legal Sources: Virginia State Crime Commission - [reported] California Elderly Parole Program eligibility: age 50+ and 20 years served California's Elderly Parole Program, Penal Code § 3055, covers an inmate who is 50 years of age or older and has served a minimum of 20 years of continuous incarceration on the inmate's current sentence. Tags: parole,elderly,legal Sources: California Code, PEN 3055 STATISTICS (152) ---------------------------------------- - [reported] Philadelphia juvenile lifer recidivism rate 4.23% (March 2025) An updated analysis by Daftary-Kapur and Zottoli on released juvenile lifers in Philadelphia found a recidivism rate of 4.23 percent as of March 2025, described as remarkably low compared to national rates. Value: 4.23 percent Date: 2025-03-01 Tags: reentry,parole,legal Sources: msudecisionmakinglab.com: an update on the release and recidivism of juvenile lifers in philadelphia - [reported] Maryland HB 853 projected OPD general fund expenditure FY2026 Maryland HB 853 would increase General Fund expenditures for the Office of the Public Defender by a minimum of $538,100 in FY 2026, accounting for staffing costs only. Value: 538100.0 dollars Tags: legal,budget,policy Sources: HB 853 (mgaleg.maryland.gov) - [reported] Michigan '650 lifer' population in 1997 As of 1997, 164 individuals were serving a life sentence in Michigan for delivery of 650 grams or more of a controlled substance. Value: 164.0 people Date: 1997-01-01 Tags: drugs,legal,policy Sources: S.B. 281 & H.B. 4065: Enrolled Summary (8-13-99) - "650 Lifer Law"/drug Rape - [reported] NY parole release rate rose from 30% to 54% after board appointments New York's parole release rate rose from 30 percent of decided hearings in May 2017 to 54 percent a year later, following new Board of Parole appointments and minor regulatory changes, according to data from the Parole Preparation Project. Value: 54.0 percent (vs. 30 May 2017 release rate) Tags: parole,policy Sources: Vacancies and Zombie Commissioners Leave Opening for Parole Reform in New York | Bolts - [reported] Rearrest rate at 8 years: federal offenders 65+ vs under 21 Over an eight-year follow-up period, 13.4 percent of federal offenders age 65 or older at time of release were rearrested, compared to 67.6 percent of offenders younger than age 21 at time of release. Value: 13.4 percent rearrested (vs. 67.6 offenders younger than 21 at release, 8-year rearrest rate) Tags: reentry,parole,legal Sources: The Effects of Aging on Recidivism Among Federal Offenders - [reported] NY parole release rate by race, 2022–Q1 2023 A June 2023 NYU Law Center on Race, Inequality, and the Law report found that across all of 2022 and the first quarter of 2023, New York's Parole Board released 41% of all white people appearing before it but only 30% of all people of color appearing before it. Value: 41.0 % (vs. 30 release rate for people of color) Tags: parole,legal,demographics Sources: The Problem (law.nyu.edu) - [reported] Federal Second Look Act of 2019 would make ~583 violent criminals eligible for early release The U.S. Attorney's Office for DC stated that approximately 583 violent criminals would be made eligible for early release under the Second Look Act of 2019, which would allow sentence reduction after serving 15 years and expand eligibility to adults who committed crimes before age 25. Value: 583.0 people Date: 2019-01-01 Tags: legal,policy,parole Sources: New Bill Seeks to Make Over 500 Violent Criminals, Including Many Rapists and Murderers, Eligible for Early Release Under Second Look Act of 2019 - [reported] Five states have prosecutor-initiated resentencing laws as of 2024 As of 2024, five states other than California, Washington, Oregon, Illinois, Minnesota, and Utah, have prosecutor-initiated resentencing (PIR) laws. Value: 5.0 states Date: 2024-01-01 Tags: legal,policy,sentencing Sources: Second Look Movement: An Assessment of the Nation's Sentence Review Laws - [reported] Virginia geriatric parole grants in 2021 In 2021, the Virginia Parole Board issued 21 total geriatric parole grants, of which 10% (2) were parole-eligible offenders and 90% (19) were truth-in-sentencing offenders. Value: 21.0 grants Date: 2021-01-01 Tags: parole,elderly,policy Sources: Virginia State Crime Commission - [reported] California lifer three-year conviction rate 3.1% vs 46.8% for determinate-term offenders In California's FY 2013-14 release cohort, offenders sentenced to an indeterminate term (lifers) comprised 1.6 percent (514 offenders) and had a three-year conviction rate of 3.1 percent (16 offenders), compared to 46.8 percent for determinate-term offenders who comprised 98.4 percent (32,599 offenders) of the cohort. Value: 3.1 percent (vs. 46.8 determinate-term offender three-year conviction rate) Tags: reentry,parole,legal Sources: Name of Report, Recidivism Report for Offenders Released in Fiscal Year 2013 14 - [reported] D.C. IRAA original eligibility about 100 people Only about 100 people were made eligible for resentencing through D.C.'s original Incarceration Reduction Amendment Act (IRAA), passed in 2016, according to James Zeigler, director of the Second Look Project. Value: 100.0 people Date: 2016-01-01 Tags: legal,parole Sources: Waiting for a Second Look | Bolts - [reported] Maryland HB 853 projected OPD general fund expenditure FY2030 Maryland HB 853 would increase General Fund expenditures for the Office of the Public Defender to $730,300 by FY 2030, reflecting annualization and inflation. Value: 730300.0 dollars Tags: legal,budget,policy Sources: HB 853 (mgaleg.maryland.gov) - [reported] New Michigan '650 lifer' commitments in 1997 There were nine new life sentence commitments in Michigan in 1997 for delivery of 650 grams or more of a controlled substance. Value: 9.0 commitments Date: 1997-01-01 Tags: drugs,legal,policy Sources: S.B. 281 & H.B. 4065: Enrolled Summary (8-13-99) - "650 Lifer Law"/drug Rape - [reported] NY parole grant rate: 46% white vs 39% people of color (2018-2020) Between 2018 and 2020, New York's Board of Parole granted parole for 46 percent of white people who sought it, and only 39 percent for people of color, per a FWD.us report. Value: 46.0 percent (vs. 39 grant rate for people of color) Tags: parole,demographics Sources: Vacancies and Zombie Commissioners Leave Opening for Parole Reform in New York | Bolts - [reported] 10-year return-to-prison rate: state prisoners 65+ vs 24 or younger Among state prisoners released in 24 states, those age 65 or older at release had a 10-year cumulative return-to-prison rate (for a parole/probation violation or new sentence) of 32.7 percent, compared to 69.0 percent for those age 24 or younger at release. Value: 32.7 percent returned to prison (vs. 69.0 state prisoners age 24 or younger at release, 10-year return-to-prison rate) Tags: reentry,parole,legal Sources: U.S. Department of Justice, rpr24s0810yfup0818 - [reported] Over 70 IRAA motions filed; 17 ruled on, only one denied More than 70 defendants had filed IRAA motions for sentence reduction or were in the process of doing so; approximately 17 motions had been ruled on and only one petition had been denied. Value: 70.0 motions (vs. 17 motions ruled on) Date: 2019-01-01 Tags: legal,policy,parole Sources: New Bill Seeks to Make Over 500 Violent Criminals, Including Many Rapists and Murderers, Eligible for Early Release Under Second Look Act of 2019 - [reported] 462 Oklahoma inmates slated for release after detainers Of the 527 inmates recommended for commutation, 65 had detainers, so 462 inmates were to be released on Monday, November 4, 2019. The recommended group was 75% male and 25% female. Value: 462.0 inmates (vs. 527 total recommended for commutation) Date: 2019-11-04 Tags: parole,policy Sources: Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board Recommends Largest Single-day Commutation in U.S. History - [reported] Virginia geriatric conditional release decisions and grants in CY2018 In CY2018, the Virginia Parole Board made 725 total decisions for geriatric conditional release and granted 55. Of the decisions, 25% (178) were parole-eligible offenders and 75% (547) were truth-in-sentencing offenders; of the grants, 20% (11) were parole-eligible and 80% (44) were truth-in-sentencing. Value: 725.0 decisions (vs. 55 grants) Date: 2018-01-01 Tags: parole,elderly,policy Sources: Virginia State Crime Commission - [reported] D.C. IRAA amendment expanded eligibility to at least 600 people Last year's amendment to D.C.'s IRAA expanded resentencing eligibility to at least 600 people, according to the director of the Second Look Project. Value: 600.0 people Tags: legal,parole Sources: Waiting for a Second Look | Bolts - [reported] 10-year cumulative arrest rate: 2,300 released state prisoners age 65+ Among 2,300 state prisoners released who were age 65 or older at release, the cumulative arrest rate over the following 10 years was 40.1 percent, compared to 89.5 percent among the 62,700 released at age 24 or younger. Value: 40.1 percent arrested (vs. 89.5 released state prisoners age 24 or younger, 10-year cumulative arrest rate) Tags: reentry,parole,legal Sources: U.S. Department of Justice, rpr24s0810yfup0818 - [reported] Of 16 IRAA motions granted, 12 involved murders Of the 16 IRAA motions granted, 12 cases involved murders, two cases involved rapes, one case involved armed robbery, and one case involved armed kidnapping. Value: 16.0 motions granted Date: 2019-01-01 Tags: legal,policy,parole Sources: New Bill Seeks to Make Over 500 Violent Criminals, Including Many Rapists and Murderers, Eligible for Early Release Under Second Look Act of 2019 - [reported] Oklahoma board considered 814 cases under HB 1269 Oklahoma's Pardon and Parole Board considered 814 inmates' cases during the special meeting held the first day HB 1269 took effect; the 2019 law enabled an accelerated single-stage commutation docket reviewing sentences of inmates imprisoned for crimes that would no longer be felonies if charged today. Value: 814.0 cases Date: 2019-01-01 Tags: parole,policy,legal Sources: Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board Recommends Largest Single-day Commutation in U.S. History - [reported] 1,172 felony murder convictions vacated and resentenced in California as of Dec 2024 As of December 2024, 1,172 people in California initially convicted under the felony murder rule have had those charges vacated and were resentenced based on remaining charges; of those resentenced, 78% have since been released from prison. Value: 1172.0 people Date: 2024-12-01 Tags: legal,sentencing,reentry Sources: SECOND LOOK SERIES Committee on Revision, Felony Murder Reform - [reported] Virginia geriatric conditional release decisions and grants in CY2019 In CY2019, the Virginia Parole Board made 759 total decisions for geriatric conditional release and granted 24. Of the decisions, 24% (184) were parole-eligible offenders and 76% (575) were truth-in-sentencing offenders; of the grants, 42% (10) were parole-eligible and 58% (14) were truth-in-sentencing. Value: 759.0 decisions (vs. 24 grants) Date: 2019-01-01 Tags: parole,elderly,policy Sources: Virginia State Crime Commission - [reported] D.C. SLAA resentencing motions decided: 95, granted: 84 The U.S. Attorney's Office for D.C. told Bolts that 95 resentencing motions filed under the Second Look Amendment Act (SLAA) and its predecessors had been decided, 84 of which were granted. Value: 95.0 motions decided (vs. 84 motions granted) Tags: legal,parole Sources: Waiting for a Second Look | Bolts - [reported] Maryland OPD first-year Juvenile Restoration Act motions decided According to OPD's report on its efforts in the first year of the Juvenile Restoration Act, courts decided 36 motions during the first year of the Act. Value: 36.0 motions Tags: legal,parole,policy Sources: HB 853 (mgaleg.maryland.gov) - [reported] Oklahoma commutation cohort averaged 39.7 years old, 3 years incarcerated Of the Oklahoma inmates receiving a favorable recommendation for commutation, the average age was 39.7 years old, they had been incarcerated for the past three years, and the recommendation was to commute 1,931 years total. Value: 1931.0 years Date: 2019-01-01 Tags: parole,policy Sources: Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board Recommends Largest Single-day Commutation in U.S. History - [reported] 78% of felony murder resentenced individuals released Of the 1,172 people resentenced after felony murder convictions were vacated in California, 78% have since been released from prison. Value: 78.0 percent Date: 2024-12-01 Tags: legal,sentencing,reentry Sources: SECOND LOOK SERIES Committee on Revision, Felony Murder Reform - [reported] Virginia geriatric conditional release decisions and grants in CY2020 In CY2020, the Virginia Parole Board made 901 total decisions for geriatric conditional release and granted 77. Of the decisions, 21% (193) were parole-eligible offenders and 79% (708) were truth-in-sentencing offenders; of the grants, 27% (21) were parole-eligible and 73% (56) were truth-in-sentencing. Value: 901.0 decisions (vs. 77 grants) Date: 2020-01-01 Tags: parole,elderly,policy Sources: Virginia State Crime Commission - [reported] D.C. prosecutors opposed release timing in all but 12 of 95 motions The U.S. Attorney's Office for D.C. told Bolts it had opposed or objected to the timing of release in all but 12 of the 95 decided resentencing motions under SLAA and its predecessors. Value: 12.0 motions without opposition (vs. 95 motions decided) Tags: legal,parole Sources: Waiting for a Second Look | Bolts - [reported] Maryland Juvenile Restoration Act motions granted and released Of the 36 motions decided in the first year of the Juvenile Restoration Act, 23 cases (63.9%) resulted in a motion granted and the individual released from prison. Value: 23.0 cases (vs. 63.9 percent of motions decided) Tags: legal,parole,policy Sources: HB 853 (mgaleg.maryland.gov) - [confirmed] NY 2008 release cohort: 0.6% were 65+, 17% of those returned in 3 years Of the 26,867 people in New York DOCCS' 2008 release cohort, 165 (0.6 percent) were age 65 and over at release; of those, 28 (17.0 percent) were returned to DOCCS custody within three years for either a new commitment or a parole violation. Value: 17.0 percent Tags: reentry,parole,demographics Sources: State of New York - [reported] Average time served before Alameda County PIR resentencing: 21.8 years The UC Berkeley Law Criminal Law and Justice Center report found that the average length of time served among all 165 individuals resentenced in Alameda County's prosecutor-initiated resentencing program was approximately 21.8 years prior to resentencing. Value: 21.8 years Date: 2026-01-01 Tags: sentencing,legal Sources: law.berkeley.edu: Resentencing Report 2026 - [reported] Virginia geriatric conditional release decisions and grants in CY2021 In CY2021, the Virginia Parole Board made 566 total decisions for geriatric conditional release and granted 21. Of the decisions, 13% (71) were parole-eligible offenders and 87% (495) were truth-in-sentencing offenders; of the grants, 10% (2) were parole-eligible and 90% (19) were truth-in-sentencing. Value: 566.0 decisions (vs. 21 grants) Date: 2021-01-01 Tags: parole,elderly,policy Sources: Virginia State Crime Commission - [reported] Unger group recidivism less than 1 percent vs 40 percent Maryland overall Out of the 188 Unger group people released in Maryland, only one has been rearrested, an overall recidivism rate of less than 1 percent, compared to a 40 percent rate of recidivism for all persons released from Maryland prisons. Value: 1.0 percent recidivism (less than) (vs. 40 percent recidivism for all Maryland releases) Date: 2018-01-01 Tags: reentry,parole Sources: November, 2018 (abell.org) - [reported] Free Minds reports 3% recidivism among IRAA recipients vs. 20% national Free Minds Book Club, which has served hundreds of IRAA recipients in the community, reports that 97 percent of these individuals have not been convicted of a new crime, a 3 percent recidivism rate much lower than the 20 percent recidivism rate reported by national entities about the prison population. Value: 3.0 percent recidivism (vs. 20 national recidivism rate) Tags: reentry,parole,legal Sources: IRAA: Second Chances in DC - [reported] Unger release recidivism rate In the six years since the Unger decision, only five of the 188 people released under the Unger ruling had returned to prison for violating parole or a new crime, a rate of less than 3 percent, compared with Maryland's overall recidivism rate of 40 percent. Value: 5.0 people (vs. 188 people released under Unger ruling) Tags: parole,reentry,legal Sources: The Ungers, 5 Years and Counting: A Case Study in Safely Reducing Long Prison Terms and Saving Taxpayer Dollars - The Abell Foundation - [reported] Michigan HB 5377 House vote Michigan House Bill 5377 passed the House with a vote of 97 yeas to 10 nays and was given immediate effect. Value: 97.0 yeas (vs. 10 nays) Date: 2018-01-01 Tags: legal,policy Sources: House Bill 5377 of 2018 (Public Act 339 of 2018) - Michigan Legislature - [reported] Low recidivism (3-8%) among California resentenced releases within one year A California Policy Lab report examining recidivism for approximately 9,500 people released via five prominent California resentencing policies found that among those resentenced under Proposition 36, CDCR-initiated resentencing, or felony murder reform, just 3% to 8% were convicted of any new offense within one year, and fewer than one percent were convicted of a new violent offense. Value: 3.0 percent (vs. 8 percent upper bound) Date: 2026-01-01 Tags: reentry,recidivism,sentencing Sources: law.berkeley.edu: Resentencing Report 2026 - [reported] Virginia parole grant rate in first nine months of 2021 In the first nine months of 2021, the Virginia Parole Board heard more than 2,000 cases and granted parole to only 134 people, including 21 geriatric parole grantees, a 5 percent grant rate. Value: 5.0 percent Date: 2021-01-01 Tags: parole,policy Sources: justicepolicy.org: VA Second Look 02 04 2022 - [reported] New York and Virginia reconviction rates for older released prisoners New York reported a 7 percent re-conviction rate after release for those between 50 and 64 years old and only a 4 percent rate for those 65 or older; Virginia reported a 1 percent reconviction rate for those 60 and older. Value: 7.0 percent reconviction (NY ages 50-64) (vs. 4 percent reconviction (NY age 65+)) Date: 2018-01-01 Tags: reentry,parole Sources: November, 2018 (abell.org) - [reported] Michigan HB 5377 Senate vote Michigan House Bill 5377 passed the Senate with a vote of 31 yeas to 4 nays, 2 excused and 0 not voting, and was given immediate effect. Value: 31.0 yeas (vs. 4 nays) Date: 2018-01-01 Tags: legal,policy Sources: House Bill 5377 of 2018 (Public Act 339 of 2018) - Michigan Legislature - [confirmed] NY 2023 medical parole: 61 applications, 39 granted, 23 released Among the 61 medical parole applications received by the New York Board of Parole in 2023, 55 (90%) met with the Board and 39 of those (71%) were granted medical parole; of the 39, 23 were released on medical parole, 13 were awaiting release at the end of 2023, and three died prior to release. Value: 61.0 applications (vs. 39 granted medical parole) Date: 2023-01-01 Tags: medical,parole,death Sources: Medical Parole (doccs.ny.gov) - [reported] BOP inmates age 50+ grew 25% FY2009-FY2013 From fiscal year 2009 to fiscal year 2013, inmates age 50 and older in BOP-managed institutions increased by 25 percent, from 24,857 to 30,962. Value: 25.0 percent increase Tags: demographics,facilities Sources: Office of the Inspector General - [reported] George Gascón initiated resentencing for 300 people; only 4 reoffended The UC Berkeley Law report on Alameda County's PIR program noted that former Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón initiated resentencing for 300 people, of which only 4 had reoffended at the time Gascón was running for reelection. Value: 300.0 people (vs. 4 reoffended) Date: 2026-01-01 Tags: reentry,recidivism,sentencing Sources: law.berkeley.edu: Resentencing Report 2026 - [reported] Parole-eligible population in Virginia as of June 2019 Parole was abolished in Virginia in 1995, but as of June 2019 there were still 2,728 parole-eligible people in prison in Virginia. Value: 2728.0 people Date: 2019-01-01 Tags: parole,policy Sources: justicepolicy.org: VA Second Look 02 04 2022 - [reported] California scheduled 3,674 elderly parole hearings, 47% of scheduled hearings California Board of Parole Hearings scheduled 3,674 hearings for people eligible for an elderly parole hearing, 47% of scheduled hearings, up from 45% in 2024. Value: 3674.0 hearings (vs. 45 2024 percentage of scheduled hearings) Tags: parole Sources: Board of Parole Hearings, Significant Events as of 5.1.26 - [reported] BJS nine-year rearrest rate 43 percent for age 60+ vs 85 percent overall The Bureau of Justice Statistics tracked re-arrest rates in the nine years following release and found that for those aged 60 or older, the arrest rate was 43 percent compared to an overall rate of 85 percent. Value: 43.0 percent rearrest (age 60+) (vs. 85 percent rearrest overall) Date: 2018-01-01 Tags: reentry,parole Sources: November, 2018 (abell.org) - [reported] Maryland Democratic trifecta and Senate seat count Maryland has a Democratic trifecta in which the Democratic Party controls the office of governor and both chambers of the state legislature, and as of November 9, 2022 the Democratic Party held 34 of the Senate's seats. Value: 34.0 seats Date: 2022-11-09 Tags: legal,policy Sources: Maryland General Assembly - Ballotpedia - [confirmed] NY medical parole applications 2019-2023: 168 total, avg 34/year There were 168 certified medical parole applications submitted to the New York Board of Parole from 2019 through 2023, an average of 34 per year; the 61 applications in 2023 were nearly double those in 2019 and 2022 and about triple those in 2020 and 2021. Value: 168.0 applications (vs. 34 average per year) Tags: medical,parole Sources: Medical Parole (doccs.ny.gov) - [estimated] BOP population over age 65 approximately 4,000 BOP reported there were relatively few inmates over the age of 65 in its population, approximately 4,000 at that time, as part of its reasoning for recommending that the elderly home detention pilot program not be made permanent. Value: 4000.0 inmates Tags: demographics,policy Sources: Office of the Inspector General - [reported] Oregon Democrats held supermajorities in 81st Legislative Assembly The Democratic Party of Oregon retained supermajority status in both chambers of the 81st Oregon Legislative Assembly, keeping an 18-12 majority in the Senate and a 37-23 majority in the House. Value: 18.0 Senate seats (vs. 12 Republican Senate seats) Tags: legal,policy Sources: 81st Oregon Legislative Assembly - Wikipedia - [reported] Alameda County PIR saved 2,792 years of incarceration Prosecutor-initiated resentencing in Alameda County pursuant to Penal Code section 1172.1 resulted in 2,792 years of incarceration saved. Value: 2792.0 years Date: 2026-01-01 Tags: sentencing,budget Sources: law.berkeley.edu: Resentencing Report 2026 - [reported] Recidivism rate for Virginia offenders released in FY2014 Of the 12,021 offenders released in FY2014 with the opportunity to recidivate, 2,815 (23.4%) were re-incarcerated within three years. Value: 23.4 percent Tags: reentry,recidivism Sources: Research Unit (vadoc.virginia.gov) - [estimated] Alameda County PIR cost savings: $42.6M to $287.4M annually The UC Berkeley Law report estimated that Alameda County's prosecutor-initiated resentencing produced cost savings to the State of California ranging from an annual marginal cost saving of approximately $42.6 million to an annual average cost saving of approximately $287.4 million, using data on annual costs from the Legislative Analyst's Office. Value: 42.6 million dollars (vs. 287.4 million dollars upper bound) Date: 2026-01-01 Tags: budget,sentencing Sources: law.berkeley.edu: Resentencing Report 2026 - [reported] Recidivism rate for Virginia offenders aged 50+ released in FY2014 Of the 1,978 offenders released in FY2014 who were 50 years or older, only 342 (17.3%) recidivated within three years, a rate 6.1 percentage points lower than the overall three-year recidivism rate for FY2014 releases. Value: 17.3 percent (vs. 23.4 overall recidivism rate) Tags: reentry,recidivism,elderly Sources: Research Unit (vadoc.virginia.gov) - [confirmed] NY medical parole 2019-2023: 19 applications not reviewed, 16 died before interview Among the 168 certified medical parole applications submitted to the Board of Parole for consideration between 2019 and 2023, 149 medical parole interviews were conducted while 19 applications were not reviewed; of those 19, 16 individuals died prior to their Board interview, two were released on regular parole, and one was awaiting an interview at the end of 2023. Value: 19.0 applications (vs. 168 total applications) Tags: medical,parole,death Sources: Medical Parole (doccs.ny.gov) - [reported] 71 of 855 elderly home detention pilot requesters placed (8%) Under the original BOP elderly offender home detention pilot program, 71 of 855 inmates who requested to participate (8 percent) were ultimately placed on home detention, while 750 of the 855 inmates (88 percent) were ineligible because they did not meet the statutory provisions. Value: 71.0 inmates placed on home detention (vs. 855 inmates who requested to participate) Tags: policy,reentry Sources: Office of the Inspector General - [reported] 17 death-sentenced individuals resentenced in Alameda County; 5 to LWOP In Alameda County's prosecutor-initiated resentencing program, 17 individuals originally condemned to death were resentenced, and 5 of those were resentenced to life without parole. Value: 17.0 people (vs. 5 resentenced to LWOP) Date: 2026-01-01 Tags: sentencing,legal Sources: law.berkeley.edu: Resentencing Report 2026 - [reported] California invested $18M in Prosecutor-Initiated Resentencing pilot California invested $18M of state budget towards Prosecutor-Initiated Resentencing in the nation's first PIR Pilot program. Value: 18.0 million dollars Tags: budget,legal,policy Sources: For The People: 5 Years of Impact - [confirmed] 83% of NY medical parole applicants aged 50+, average age 61 Among the 168 medical parole applications, 83 percent (140) were for individuals aged 50 and older, and the average age of applicants during the five-year period was 61 years old. Value: 83.0 percent Tags: medical,parole,demographics Sources: Medical Parole (doccs.ny.gov) - [reported] BOP Central Office denied 32 pilot transfers over recidivism/public-risk concerns The BOP's Central Office did not approve the transfer of 32 inmates to home detention under the elderly offender pilot program because the BOP determined the inmates were a risk for recidivism or endangering the public. Value: 32.0 inmates denied transfer Tags: policy,reentry Sources: Office of the Inspector General - [reported] NY 2009 drug law reform reduced prison admissions Findings from the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services' preliminary review of the drug law changes indicate that in the 12 months following implementation, approximately 1,000 fewer people went to State prison, including 300 individuals who were sentenced to either jail or probation due to the elimination of certain mandatory prison sentences. Value: 1000.0 fewer people (vs. 300 sentenced to jail or probation) Tags: drugs,legal,policy,budget Sources: Preliminary Impact of 2009 Drug Law Reform October 2009-September 2010 | Office of Justice Programs - [reported] Paroled murderers recidivism rate under 1% vs. 48.7% overall In a cohort of 860 convicted murderers paroled by California's Board since 1995, only five individuals returned to jail or to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for new felonies since release, none for life-term crimes, representing a recidivism rate of less than one percent, compared to the state's overall inmate population recommitment rate of 48.7 percent. Value: 1.0 percent recidivism (vs. 48.7 overall recommitment rate) Tags: parole,reentry,legal Sources: Stanford Criminal Justice Center, Parole Release for Lifers - [reported] 8 of 12 remaining death-sentenced individuals got indeterminate terms; 4 determinate Of the 12 remaining death-sentenced individuals resentenced in Alameda County, 8 were resentenced to indeterminate terms and will appear before the Board of Parole Hearings, and 4 were resentenced to determinate terms and presumably released immediately. Value: 8.0 people (vs. 4 determinate terms) Date: 2026-01-01 Tags: sentencing,legal,parole Sources: law.berkeley.edu: Resentencing Report 2026 - [reported] For The People: 585-1,003 years of incarceration saved in 88 cases Between 585 and 1,003 years of incarceration were saved, according to advocacy group For The People, solely in a sample of 88 cases the organization directly supported. Value: 585.0 years (vs. 1003 upper bound years saved) Tags: legal,policy Sources: For The People: 5 Years of Impact - [reported] Michigan 2002 incarcerated drug offense population By August 2002, according to the Michigan Department of Corrections, 7,557 people were incarcerated for manufacturing, delivering, possessing with intent, or possessing a Schedule 1 or 2 narcotic or cocaine, and 228 of those were serving a life term. Value: 7557.0 people (vs. 228 serving a life term) Date: 2002-08-01 Tags: drugs,legal,policy Sources: State Notes (sfa.senate.michigan.gov) - [reported] Minnesota prosecutor-initiated sentence adjustments granted FY2025 According to data from the Minnesota Judicial Branch, four petitions under Minnesota's prosecutor-initiated sentence adjustment statute (Minn. Stat. § 609.133) were granted in fiscal year 2025 (July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025). Value: 4.0 petitions Tags: legal,policy,parole Sources: mn.gov: 2026 Minn Sentencing Guidelines Comm Report to the Legislature tcm30 719777 - [reported] NY drug law reform: 36% re-arrest for treatment vs 54% for incarceration In a Vera Institute study, 36 percent of a sample of defendants who received treatment following New York's drug law reforms were re-arrested within two years, compared to 54 percent of defendants who were sentenced to prison, jail, probation, or time served before the laws changed. Value: 36.0 percent (vs. 54 re-arrest rate for pre-reform sentencing) Tags: drugs,reentry,legal Sources: End of An Era? The Impact of Drug Law - [reported] Michigan 2002 drug offense population under 50 grams As of August 2002, of the 7,557 people incarcerated in Michigan for the specified drug offenses, 5,909 were serving for violations involving less than 50 grams. Value: 5909.0 people Date: 2002-08-01 Tags: drugs,legal,policy Sources: State Notes (sfa.senate.michigan.gov) - [reported] 46% of all California releases reoffend within 3 years vs 27% for Prop 36 early releases The California Committee on Revision of the Penal Code found that about 46% of all people released from prison had a new conviction within 3 years, but only 27% of people released early under Proposition 36 did, a 42% difference, and less than 2% of those released early under Proposition 36 had a new conviction for a violent offense within 3 years. Value: 46.0 percent (vs. 27 percent for Prop 36 releases) Date: 2023-01-01 Tags: recidivism,reentry,sentencing Sources: clrc.ca.gov: CRPC AR2023 - [reported] Retroactivity Group released average 37 months early The Retroactivity Group studied by USSC in its Drugs Minus Two recidivism report was released on average 37 months early through retroactive application of the Drugs Minus Two Amendment. Value: 37.0 months early (average) Tags: drugs,reentry,legal Sources: Retroactivity & Recidivism - [confirmed] Released prisoners aged 60+ had 16.5% three-year conviction rate Among individuals released from CDCR, those aged 60 and over at release (1,329 people) had a three-year conviction rate of 16.5 percent. Value: 16.5 percent Tags: reentry,parole,demographics Sources: Statewide Recidivism Report for Individuals Released in Fiscal Year 2018-19 - [reported] Washington SB 6164 resentencing requests granted as of May 2024 As of May 2024, 41 of the 42 resentencing requests filed by Washington prosecutors under SB 6164 had been granted by courts, with one hearing pending scheduling. Value: 41.0 requests granted (vs. 42 total requests) Date: 2024-01-01 Tags: legal,sentencing,policy Sources: Prosecutor-initiated Resentencing (lsj.washington.edu) - [reported] USSC: 29% lower recidivism odds for sentences over 120 months The U.S. Sentencing Commission found the odds of recidivism were approximately 29 percent lower for federal offenders sentenced to more than 120 months incarceration compared to a matched group of federal offenders receiving shorter sentences. Value: 29.0 percent lower odds of recidivism Tags: reentry,legal Sources: Length of Incarceration - [confirmed] Released prisoners aged 18-19 had 61.1% three-year conviction rate Among individuals released from CDCR, those aged 18 and 19 at release (157 people) had a three-year conviction rate of 61.1 percent. Value: 61.1 percent Tags: reentry,parole,demographics Sources: Statewide Recidivism Report for Individuals Released in Fiscal Year 2018-19 - [reported] 820 persons eligible for geriatric parole in Virginia As of July 31, 2022, there were 820 persons eligible for geriatric parole in Virginia. Value: 820.0 persons Date: 2022-07-31 Tags: parole,demographics Sources: Virginia State Crime Commission - [reported] Requests received by Washington prosecutors for resentencing Prosecutors reported having received a total of 1,251 requests from imprisoned people for resentencing, although some may have pertained to other policy reforms, with most pertaining to SB 6164. Value: 1251.0 requests Date: 2024-01-01 Tags: legal,sentencing,policy Sources: Prosecutor-initiated Resentencing (lsj.washington.edu) - [reported] Unger class releases as of January 2019 As of January 2019, 193 members of the Unger class in Maryland had come home. Value: 193.0 people Date: 2019-01-01 Tags: reentry,legal Sources: The Ungers, 5 Years and Counting: A Case Study in Safely Reducing Long Prison Terms and Saving Taxpayer Dollars - Justice Policy Institute - [reported] Michigan 2002 drug offense population over 7,500 As of August 2002, over 7,500 inmates in Michigan's current institution/camp population were serving sentences for the eight applicable drug offenses under the mandatory minimum structure being eliminated by the 2002 legislation. Value: 7500.0 inmates Date: 2002-08-01 Tags: drugs,legal,policy Sources: State Notes (sfa.senate.michigan.gov) - [reported] USSC: 18% lower recidivism odds for sentences of 60-120 months The U.S. Sentencing Commission found the odds of recidivism were approximately 18 percent lower for offenders sentenced to more than 60 months up to 120 months incarceration compared to a matched group of federal offenders receiving shorter sentences. Value: 18.0 percent lower odds of recidivism Tags: reentry,legal Sources: Length of Incarceration - [reported] 72% of PIR cases under review >6 months in RAND evaluation A RAND evaluation found that among California cases awaiting a prosecutor's decision on whether to proceed under prosecutor-initiated resentencing, 72% had been under review for more than 6 months, in an evaluation covering the first 18 months of the pilot program. Value: 72.0 percent Date: 2023-01-01 Tags: sentencing,legal,operations Sources: clrc.ca.gov: CRPC AR2023 - [reported] Recidivism rate for Washington juvenile offenders released early In Washington, the recidivism rate among people who returned home early after receiving a very long or life sentence for a crime committed as a juvenile is remarkably low: just two (2.1 percent) of 98 such people have been convicted of a new felony. Value: 2.1 percent Date: 2024-01-01 Tags: reentry,recidivism,juvenile Sources: Prosecutor-initiated Resentencing (lsj.washington.edu) - [reported] Maryland JUVRA motions decided in first year According to a Maryland Office of the Public Defender report described by The BayNet, 36 motions for sentence reduction under the Juvenile Restoration Act had been decided by Circuit Courts across Maryland in the law's first year, and in 23 of those cases courts reduced the sentence to allow for immediate release from prison. Value: 36.0 motions (vs. 23 motions granted immediate release) Tags: legal,sentencing,juvenile Sources: Juvenile Restoration Act Secures The Freedom Of 23 Individuals In The First Year Of Its Implementation - The BayNet - [reported] NY 2022 parole approval rates by demographic group In 2022, approval rates for Non-Administrative Parole Board Interviews were highest among incarcerated women (46%), individuals in their 50's (42%), and individuals sentenced in Upstate Rural counties (45%). Value: 46.0 % (vs. 42 % for individuals in their 50's) Date: 2022-01-01 Tags: parole,legal,demographics Sources: Board of Parole, 2022 parole board legislative report - [reported] California County Resentencing Pilot: 240 of 1,146 case reviews referred to court RAND's evaluation of the California County Resentencing Pilot Program found that among 1,146 case reviews initiated during the reporting period, 240 cases were referred to the court for resentencing, DA offices decided not to refer 710 cases that they had reviewed, and 196 cases were still under DA review or deferred for future review. Value: 240.0 cases referred (vs. 1146 case reviews initiated) Tags: legal,policy,parole Sources: Evaluation of the California County Resentencing Pilot Program: Year 3 Findings - [reported] Twelve states have geriatric parole Twelve states have geriatric parole, according to the Virginia State Crime Commission. Value: 12.0 states Date: 2022-01-01 Tags: parole,policy Sources: Virginia State Crime Commission - [reported] CDCR-initiated resentencing recidivism: 4% at 1 year, 10% at 2 years, 14% at 3 years Among people released through CDCR-initiated resentencing, 4 percent were convicted of a new offense within one year of release, 10 percent within two years, and 14 percent within three years, compared to 21 percent, 33 percent, and 42 percent respectively among total CDCR releases. Value: 4.0 percent (vs. 21 percent for total releases at 1 year) Tags: recidivism,reentry,sentencing Sources: SECOND LOOK SERIES Committee on Revision, CDCR and Rehabilitation Initiated Resentencing - [reported] Washington Democratic trifecta in 2020 Washington was one of 15 Democratic state government trifectas at the start of 2020 legislative sessions. Value: 15.0 states Date: 2020-01-01 Tags: politics,legislation Sources: 2020 Washington legislative session - Ballotpedia - [reported] DC: fifty-plus defendants preparing or granted IRAA relief The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia stated there were fifty-plus defendants who were in the process of preparing IRAA motions or who had brought IRAA motions and been granted relief after a hearing. Value: 50.0 defendants Date: 2019-01-01 Tags: legal,policy Sources: U.S. Department of Justice, letter statement final liu to council re b23 127 second look act 04 23 2019 - [reported] Mississippi SB 2795 immediate parole eligibility Mississippi's SB 2795 (the Earned Parole Eligibility Act) took effect July 1, 2021, with approximately 600 people immediately eligible for parole as a result. Value: 600.0 people Date: 2021-07-01 Tags: parole,legal,policy Sources: Celebrating Parole Reform in Mississippi - FWD.us - [confirmed] NY 2018 releases: 8.2% of murder convictions returned in 3 years In DOCCS' Releases from Custody report, among 466 individuals released after a Murder conviction, 38 (8.2%) returned to DOCCS custody within three years, including 7 (1.5%) on a new commitment and 31 (6.7%) on a parole violation. Value: 8.2 percent Tags: reentry,parole Sources: 2018 Releases from Custody - [reported] First Step Act Section 404: average sentence cut 239 to 166 months (696 cases) For cases with sentence-reduction data under First Step Act Section 404, the average sentence decreased from 239 months to 166 months, a decrease of 73 months (29.4 percent) from the current sentence, across 696 cases. Value: 73.0 months reduction (average) (vs. 29.4 percent decrease from current sentence) Date: 2019-01-01 Tags: legal,policy Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission, 201900607 First Step Act Retro - [reported] NY 2022 A-1 violent felony parole approval by race The 2022 approval rate for African-American individuals convicted of an A-I Violent Felony was 37%, higher than the 22% approval rate among White individuals convicted of the same offense category. Value: 37.0 % (vs. 22 % for White individuals) Date: 2022-01-01 Tags: parole,legal,demographics Sources: Board of Parole, 2022 parole board legislative report - [reported] California County Resentencing Pilot: 227 of 233 court rulings resulted in resentencing RAND's evaluation of the California County Resentencing Pilot Program found that of the 233 cases for which courts had ruled on a resentencing motion, 227 resulted in resentencing, and 174 of those individuals had been released from prison. Value: 227.0 cases resentenced (vs. 233 court rulings) Tags: legal,policy,parole Sources: Evaluation of the California County Resentencing Pilot Program: Year 3 Findings - [reported] Virginia Parole Board geriatric decisions: 725 total, 178 parole-eligible The Virginia Parole Board made 725 total geriatric parole decisions, of which 25% (178) were parole-eligible offenders. Value: 725.0 decisions (vs. 178 parole-eligible offenders) Tags: parole Sources: Virginia State Crime Commission - [reported] Washington Senate and House majorities after 2018 election Following the 2018 election, Democrats had a 29-20 majority in the Washington Senate and a 57-41 majority in the House. Value: 29.0 seats (vs. 20 Republican seats) Date: 2018-01-01 Tags: politics,legislation Sources: 2020 Washington legislative session - Ballotpedia - [reported] DC: approximately forty-plus defendants brought back pending IRAA motions The U.S. Attorney's Office for DC stated approximately forty-plus defendants had been brought back to the jurisdiction pending resolution of their IRAA motions. Value: 40.0 defendants Date: 2019-01-01 Tags: legal,policy Sources: U.S. Department of Justice, letter statement final liu to council re b23 127 second look act 04 23 2019 - [reported] First Step Act Section 404 resentencing: 2,523 cases, mean reduction 72 months Under the First Step Act Section 404 resentencing provisions, the national total was 2,523 cases with a mean current sentence of 274 months, mean new sentence of 202 months, a mean decrease of 72 months, and a mean percent decrease of 24.8 percent from the current sentence. Value: 2523.0 cases (vs. 72 mean months reduced) Tags: legal,policy,parole Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission, 20210519 First Step Act Retro - [reported] Eligible population for JUVRA and SLA The Maryland Office of the Public Defender states that at the time of their enactment it had identified more than 150 people eligible for sentence reconsideration under JUVRA and more than 500 people eligible under the SLA. Value: 150.0 people (vs. 500 people eligible under SLA) Tags: legal,sentencing Sources: opd.state.md.us: decarceration initiative - [reported] Michigan homicide offender recidivism after release Among 820 people released from Michigan prisons who had served for homicide, only 2 (0.2 percent) were convicted of a new homicide offense, and 47 (5.7 percent) were convicted of any new sentencing offense. Value: 2.0 people (vs. 820 people released) Tags: parole,reentry,legal Sources: Paroling people who - [confirmed] NY 2018 releases: older returnees mostly non-violent property/other (52%) In DOCCS' 2018 Releases from Custody report, Table 7.2 shows that among individuals aged 50 or older who returned to prison for committing a new crime, they were most likely to return for non-violent Property and Other crimes (52%), while the highest return rate for individuals under age 50 was for Violent Felony Offenses (29%). Value: 52.0 percent (vs. 29 under-50 violent felony return rate) Tags: reentry,demographics Sources: 2018 Releases from Custody - [reported] Virginia Parole Board geriatric decisions: 759 total, 184 parole-eligible, 575 TIS The Virginia Parole Board made 759 total geriatric parole decisions, of which 24% (184) were parole-eligible offenders and 76% (575) were truth-in-sentencing offenders considered for geriatric conditional release. Value: 759.0 decisions (vs. 575 truth-in-sentencing offenders) Tags: parole Sources: Virginia State Crime Commission - [reported] 47% of CDCR-referred cases granted resentencing as of Dec 2024 As of December 2024, 47% of those referred to California courts had been granted resentencing under CDCR-initiated resentencing. Value: 47.0 percent Date: 2024-12-01 Tags: sentencing,legal Sources: SECOND LOOK SERIES Committee on Revision, CDCR and Rehabilitation Initiated Resentencing - [reported] First Step Act Section 404: 3,705 motions granted, 46 excluded from analysis Of 3,705 cases in which a court granted a motion for a sentence reduction due to Section 404 of the First Step Act of 2018, the U.S. Sentencing Commission analyzed the resulting reductions; 46 were excluded because they could not be matched with an original case in the Commission's records. Value: 3705.0 cases (vs. 46 cases excluded) Tags: legal,policy,parole Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission, 20210519 First Step Act Retro - [confirmed] NY 2018 releases: under-21 return rate 40% vs 31% for 21+ In DOCCS' 2018 releases cohort, 40% of individuals under 21 when released returned to custody within three years, while 31% of those 21 or older returned; the average age of releases increased from 29 among 1985 releases to 37 among 2018 releases. Value: 40.0 percent (vs. 31 return rate for 21+) Tags: reentry,demographics Sources: 2018 Releases from Custody - [reported] NY return-to-custody rates by offense: lowest categories Among New York DOCCS releases tracked over a three-year follow-up, individual crimes with the lowest return-to-custody rates included Criminally Negligent Homicide (12%) and Murder (12%). Value: 12.0 % Date: 2012-01-01 Tags: reentry,parole,legal Sources: 2012 Inmate Releases - [reported] Virginia Parole Board geriatric grants: 24 total, 10 parole-eligible, 14 TIS The Virginia Parole Board issued 24 total geriatric parole grants, of which 42% (10) were parole-eligible offenders and 58% (14) were truth-in-sentencing offenders. Value: 24.0 grants (vs. 14 truth-in-sentencing offenders) Tags: parole Sources: Virginia State Crime Commission - [reported] Washington robbery second degree resentencing bill passage votes Washington's bill making robbery-second-degree resentencing retroactive passed the Senate 28-21 and the House 52-46 on final passage, effective July 25, 2021. Value: 28.0 votes (vs. 21 opposing votes) Date: 2021-01-01 Tags: legal,sentencing,legislation Sources: Final Bill Report - [confirmed] NY 2018 releases: 9.2% of age 65+ returned vs 31.6% overall Of the 325 people released from New York DOCCS custody in 2018 who were age 65 and over at release, 30 (9.2%) returned to custody within three years, compared to 31.6% for the full 20,921-person 2018 release cohort. Value: 9.2 percent (vs. 31.6 overall return rate) Tags: reentry,demographics Sources: 2018 Releases from Custody - [reported] NY Murder release cohort three-year return outcomes In DOCCS' release cohort three-year follow-up, of 325 people released after a Murder commitment offense, 40 (12.3%) returned to custody for any reason, 3 (0.9%) returned for a new felony conviction, and 37 (11.4%) returned for other reasons. Value: 325.0 people (vs. 40 returned to custody) Date: 2012-01-01 Tags: reentry,parole,legal Sources: 2012 Inmate Releases - [reported] 1,613 Three Strikes inmates released under Proposition 36 as of April 2014 A total of 1,613 inmates sentenced to life in prison for non-violent crimes under California's Three Strikes law have been released from custody, according to CDCR data, as reported in a report dated April 2014. Value: 1613.0 people Date: 2014-04-01 Tags: legal,parole,reentry Sources: Three Strikes Project Report - [reported] Virginia Parole Board geriatric decisions: 901 total, 193 parole-eligible, 708 TIS The Virginia Parole Board made 901 total geriatric parole decisions, of which 21% (193) were parole-eligible offenders and 79% (708) were truth-in-sentencing offenders considered for geriatric conditional release. Value: 901.0 decisions (vs. 708 truth-in-sentencing offenders) Tags: parole Sources: Virginia State Crime Commission - [reported] 4,723 people resentenced under California Prop 47; 47% drug, 38% property primary offenses More than 4,700 people in California prisons were resentenced under Proposition 47, and half were in custody for a felony drug offense; of the 4,723 people resentenced, 47% had a felony drug offense as their primary offense, 38% had a property offense, and 15% were incarcerated for a more serious offense but had a subordinate property or drug offense. Value: 4723.0 people Tags: sentencing,drugs,legal Sources: SECOND LOOK SERIES Committee on Revision, Resentencing under Prop 47 2014 - [reported] King County resentencings under three-strikes review King County, Washington's Prosecuting Attorney's Office resentenced 13 people under its three-strikes/second-degree robbery review between June and August of 2021, as the first cases on its docket, with many more resentencings to come. Value: 13.0 people Date: 2021-01-01 Tags: legal,sentencing,policy Sources: Criminal Justice Section Criminal Justice Winter 2022 - [reported] 5-year arrest rate: released state prisoners 65+ (25.6%) vs 55-64 (46.3%) Among 3,100 released state prisoners who were age 65 or older at release, the cumulative arrest percentage reached 25.6% by Year 5 following release, compared to 46.3% for the 19,100 released at ages 55-64. Value: 25.6 percent arrested by Year 5 (vs. 46.3 released state prisoners ages 55-64, 5-year cumulative arrest rate) Tags: reentry,parole,legal Sources: BJS Recidivism of Prisoners Released in 34 States in 2012 - [reported] Approximately 1,000 NY inmates eligible for resentencing under Rockefeller reform Under New York's Rockefeller Drug Law Reform Act, approximately 1,000 New York State inmates were eligible for resentencing. Value: 1000.0 inmates Tags: drugs,legal,policy Sources: jaapl.org: 245.full - [reported] Recidivism rate of Proposition 36 releases is 1.3% The recidivism rate of prisoners released under California's Proposition 36 is 1.3 percent. Value: 1.3 percent Date: 2014-01-01 Tags: reentry,parole,legal Sources: Three Strikes Project Report - [reported] Virginia Parole Board geriatric grants: 77 total, 21 parole-eligible, 56 TIS The Virginia Parole Board issued 77 total geriatric parole grants, of which 27% (21) were parole-eligible offenders and 73% (56) were truth-in-sentencing offenders. Value: 77.0 grants (vs. 56 truth-in-sentencing offenders) Tags: parole Sources: Virginia State Crime Commission - [reported] USSC 2010 cohort: older offenders rearrest 21.3 percent vs 53.4 percent under 50 In the US Sentencing Commission's release cohort 2010, over an eight-year follow-up period, older offenders (n=4,091) had a rearrest rate of 21.3 percent compared to 53.4 percent for offenders under 50 (n=28,044). Value: 21.3 percent rearrest (older offenders) (vs. 53.4 percent rearrest (under 50)) Tags: reentry,parole Sources: United States Sentencing Commission - [reported] Unger cohort recidivism by new convictions The recidivism rate for the Unger-released cohort, measured by new convictions (including minor offenses but excluding driving/traffic offenses), is about 2 percent, compared to approximately 40 percent recidivism rate for Maryland overall. Value: 2.0 percent (vs. 40 percent recidivism for Maryland overall) Tags: reentry,recidivism Sources: Unger Fact Sheet - [reported] 5-year conviction rate: released state prisoners 65+ (13.0%) vs 55-64 (30.5%) Among released state prisoners who were age 65 or older, the cumulative percent with an arrest leading to a conviction reached 13.0% by Year 5 following release, compared to 30.5% for those released at ages 55-64. Value: 13.0 percent with conviction by Year 5 (vs. 30.5 released state prisoners ages 55-64, 5-year conviction rate) Tags: reentry,parole,legal Sources: BJS Recidivism of Prisoners Released in 34 States in 2012 - [reported] NY Class B drug felons resentenced and released as of Sept 30, 2010 As of September 30, 2010, 421 Class B drug felons serving indeterminate sentences with more than a three-year maximum in New York State prison had been resentenced, and 327 had been released; those released left DOCS custody an average of 10 months before their previously calculated earliest release dates. Value: 421.0 people resentenced (vs. 327 released) Date: 2010-09-30 Tags: drugs,legal,policy Sources: Division of Criminal Justice Services, interim drug law reform update 10 07 2010 - [reported] Recidivism rate of all other California inmates over same period over 30% The recidivism rate of all other California inmates released from prison over the same period of time is over 30 percent. Value: 30.0 percent Date: 2014-01-01 Tags: reentry,parole,legal Sources: Three Strikes Project Report - [reported] Virginia Parole Board geriatric decisions: 566 total, 71 parole-eligible, 495 TIS The Virginia Parole Board made 566 total geriatric parole decisions, of which 13% (71) were parole-eligible offenders and 87% (495) were truth-in-sentencing offenders considered for geriatric conditional release. Value: 566.0 decisions (vs. 495 truth-in-sentencing offenders) Tags: parole Sources: Virginia State Crime Commission - [reported] 45% of California parole hearings in 2024 were for elderly parole eligible persons Of California parole hearings, 3,581, or 45% of all hearings, were for persons eligible for an elderly parole hearing, up from 42% in 2023. Value: 3581.0 hearings (vs. 42 percent in 2023) Date: 2024-01-01 Tags: parole,elderly,legal Sources: Board of Parole Hearings - [reported] D.C. IRAA resentencings and denials by March 2025 By March 2025, 250 people had been resentenced under D.C.'s Incarceration Reduction Amendment Act (IRAA/Second Look law), and 64 petitions had been denied. Value: 250.0 people (vs. 64 denied petitions) Date: 2025-01-01 Tags: legal,sentencing,policy Sources: The Second Look Movement, Second Look Movement An Assessment of the Nations Sentence Review Laws [1] - [reported] Michigan homicide offender recidivism over 14 years In a Michigan study, only 2.7% of 2,558 homicide offenders released over a period of 14 years were returned for any new crime against a person and just 0.5% were returned for another homicide. Value: 2.7 percent (vs. 2558 homicide offenders released) Tags: parole,reentry,legal Sources: Issue (safeandjustmi.org) - [reported] 5-year return-to-prison rate: released state prisoners 65+ (14.4%) vs 55-64 (24.5%) Among released state prisoners who were age 65 or older, the cumulative percent who returned to prison for a parole/probation violation or new-sentence arrest reached 14.4% by Year 5 following release, compared to 24.5% for those released at ages 55-64. Value: 14.4 percent returned to prison by Year 5 (vs. 24.5 released state prisoners ages 55-64, 5-year return-to-prison rate) Tags: reentry,parole,legal Sources: BJS Recidivism of Prisoners Released in 34 States in 2012 - [reported] 53% of California parole grants in 2024 were to elderly parole eligible persons Of 1,150 California parole grants, 606 (53%) were to persons eligible for an elderly parole hearing, up from 44% in 2023. Value: 606.0 grants (vs. 44 percent in 2023) Date: 2024-01-01 Tags: parole,elderly,legal Sources: Board of Parole Hearings - [reported] Michigan parolable lifer recidivism 1900-2003 Of 688 parolable lifers released in Michigan from 1900-2003, only 15 were returned to prison with new sentences. Value: 15.0 people (vs. 688 parolable lifers released) Tags: parole,reentry,legal Sources: Issue (safeandjustmi.org) - [reported] Mississippi Senate Republican control 2020-2024 In the 2020–2024 Mississippi State Senate, party control was Republican, with Republicans holding 36 seats. Value: 36.0 seats Tags: legal,policy Sources: 2020–2024 Mississippi Legislature - Wikipedia - [reported] 8,000 parole grants in last 10 years with 2-4% general recidivism Despite the significant increase in the number of parole grants to inmates serving long sentences (8,000 parole grants in the last 10 years) the recidivism rates for these formerly incarcerated persons remains very low, at two to four percent for general recidivism and less than one percent for recidivism involving felony crimes against persons. Value: 8000.0 parole grants (vs. 4 percent general recidivism) Tags: parole,reentry,legal Sources: Discretionary Parole in California November 2020 - [reported] 49% of California parole denials in 2024 were to elderly parole eligible persons Of 2,614 California parole denials, 1,272 (49%) were to persons eligible for an elderly parole hearing, up from 47% in 2023. Value: 1272.0 denials (vs. 47 percent in 2023) Date: 2024-01-01 Tags: parole,elderly,legal Sources: Board of Parole Hearings - [reported] D.C. compassionate release grants during COVID-19 The D.C. Corrections Information Council last reported that from March 2020 through March 16, 2021, 143 individuals were granted compassionate release under D.C.'s COVID-era compassionate release provision. Value: 143.0 individuals Tags: legal,sentencing,policy Sources: The Second Look Movement, Second Look Movement An Assessment of the Nations Sentence Review Laws [1] - [estimated] Maryland JRCC projected prison population reduction The Maryland Justice Reinvestment Coordinating Council projected that its 19 policy recommendations together would reduce the state's prison population 14 percent, to 17,600, by 2026 and save $247 million over the next decade. Value: 14.0 percent (vs. 17600 projected prison population by 2026) Date: 2015-12-01 Tags: policy,budget,demographics Sources: Maryland’s 2016 Criminal Justice Reform | The Pew Charitable Trusts - [reported] Michigan paroled lifers returned for violations 2005-2013 Of 121 lifers who were paroled from January 2005-May 2013, five have been returned to prison for parole violations, of whom only three had been sentenced for committing new crimes and just one had committed a new assaultive offense. Value: 5.0 people (vs. 121 lifers paroled) Tags: parole,reentry,legal Sources: Issue (safeandjustmi.org) - [reported] Mississippi House Republican seats 2020-2024 In the 2020–2024 Mississippi House of Representatives, Republicans held 76 seats. Value: 76.0 seats Tags: legal,policy Sources: 2020–2024 Mississippi Legislature - Wikipedia - [reported] NY Class A-I and A-II drug offenders resentenced and released as of Dec 31, 2008 As of December 31, 2008, a total of 252 Class A-I felony drug offenders had been resentenced pursuant to New York's Drug Law Reform Act (DLRA) and released from DOCS' custody an average of 50 months prior to their previously calculated earliest release dates, and a total of 232 Class A-II felony drug offenders had been resentenced and released an average of 13 months prior to their previously calculated earliest release dates. Value: 252.0 Class A-I offenders (vs. 232 Class A-II offenders) Date: 2008-12-31 Tags: drugs,legal,policy Sources: criminaljustice.ny.gov: csr report2 2009 - [reported] 32% grant rate for elderly parole eligible hearings in 2024, unchanged from 2023 32% of California parole hearings held for persons eligible for an elderly parole hearing resulted in a grant, unchanged from 32% in 2023. Value: 32.0 percent (vs. 32 percent in 2023) Date: 2024-01-01 Tags: parole,elderly,legal Sources: Board of Parole Hearings - [reported] Federal compassionate release motions filed and granted 2019-2023 From October 2019 through September 2023, 31,069 federal compassionate release motions were filed, of which 4,952 (16%) were granted and 26,117 (84%) were denied. Value: 31069.0 motions (vs. 4952 granted) Tags: legal,sentencing,policy Sources: The Second Look Movement, Second Look Movement An Assessment of the Nations Sentence Review Laws [1] - [reported] Unger cohort recidivism as of March 2024 As of March 2024, the recidivism rate for new convictions is 3.5 percent for all 200 individuals released under Unger v. State in Maryland. Value: 3.5 percent Date: 2024-03-01 Tags: reentry,recidivism Sources: sentencingproject.org: Second Look Laws Are an Effective Solution to Reconsider Extreme Sentences Amidst Failing Parole Systems - [reported] 377 NY Class A-I drug offenders resentenced under DLRA A total of 377 inmates convicted of Class A-I felony drug offenses have been resentenced under New York's Drug Law Reform Act. Value: 377.0 inmates Date: 2009-01-01 Tags: drugs,legal,policy Sources: criminaljustice.ny.gov: csr report2 2009 - [reported] Less than 1% recidivism among 860 murderers paroled in California since 1995 Among 860 murderers paroled by California's Board of Parole Hearings since 1995, only five individuals had returned to jail or CDCR custody for new felonies, a recidivism rate of less than one percent, compared to the state's overall inmate recommitment rate of 48.7 percent for new crimes. Value: 5.0 people (vs. 48.7 percent overall recommitment rate) Tags: parole,recidivism,reentry Sources: Stanford Criminal Justice Center, SCJC Lifer Parole Release Sept 2011 - [reported] 360 NY Class A-II drug offenders resentenced under 2005 legislation As of December 31, 2008, a total of 360 inmates convicted of Class A-II felony drug offenses have been resentenced under New York's 2005 drug law legislation. Value: 360.0 inmates Date: 2008-12-31 Tags: drugs,legal,policy Sources: criminaljustice.ny.gov: csr report2 2009 - [reported] Over 1,000 people resentenced nationally via PIR as of June 2025 As of June 2025, over 1000 people have been resentenced nationally as a result of prosecutor-initiated resentencing (PIR), with approximately half (about 500) of those resentenced in California and the rest in other states. Value: 1000.0 people (vs. 500 people resentenced in California) Date: 2025-06-01 Tags: legal,policy,parole Sources: Second Look Movement: An Assessment of the Nation's Sentence Review Laws - [reported] 1,000 prisoners released under California Prop 36 (Three Strikes Reform) According to the Stanford Three Strikes Project / NAACP LDF progress report, as of its publication 1,000 prisoners had been released under California's Proposition 36 (Three Strikes Reform) resentencing process. Value: 1000.0 prisoners Tags: sentencing,legal,reentry Sources: Three Strikes Project, Three Strikes Reform Report - [confirmed] Maryland Democratic trifecta in 2025 Democrats won a 34-13 majority in the Maryland Senate and a 102-39 majority in the House, and the party also controlled the governorship, creating a Democratic state government trifecta. Value: 34.0 seats (vs. 13 Republican seats in Senate) Date: 2025-01-01 Tags: policy Sources: 2025 Maryland legislative session - Ballotpedia - [reported] Over 1,000 released under Prop 36 per CDCR data; each originally sentenced to life for minor crime According to data provided by the California Department of Corrections, over 1,000 prisoners had been released from custody under Proposition 36 as of the Stanford Three Strikes Project report, with each having been sentenced to life under the Three Strikes law for a minor crime such as petty theft or simple drug possession. Value: 1000.0 prisoners Tags: sentencing,legal,reentry Sources: Three Strikes Project, Three Strikes Reform Report - [reported] Fewer than 2% of Prop 36 releases charged with new crimes vs 16% for non-Prop 36 Fewer than 2 percent of prisoners released under California's Proposition 36 had been charged with new crimes, compared with an average recidivism rate of 16 percent over a similar time period for non-Proposition 36 inmates leaving California prisons, according to the Stanford Three Strikes Project report. Value: 2.0 percent (vs. 16 percent for non-Prop 36 inmates) Tags: recidivism,reentry,sentencing Sources: Three Strikes Project, Three Strikes Reform Report - [reported] Maryland Senate approval of Second Look Act The Senate approved the bill 31-16 and sent it back to the House, which had approved the bill two weeks ago, on an 89-49 vote; House members voted 89-47 for the amended bill Thursday night and sent it to the governor. Value: 31.0 votes (vs. 16 opposing votes in Senate) Tags: legal,legislation Sources: Senate, House approve Second Look Act in quick succession, send it to governor - Maryland Matters - [reported] Louisiana Q4 2017: 5,392 released with average 43.60 months good time/CTRP credit In the fourth quarter of 2017, 5,392 individuals in Louisiana were released and earned, on average, 43.60 months of good time and/or CTRP credit. Value: 5392.0 people (vs. 43.6 average months of good time/CTRP credit) Tags: reentry,policy Sources: Louisiana’s Justice Reinvestment Reforms FINDINGS (32) ---------------------------------------- - [confirmed] HB 894 Georgia Second Look Act introduced in 2025-2026 session HB 894, titled 'Georgia Second Look Act; enact,' was introduced in the Georgia General Assembly's 2025-2026 Regular Session, sponsored by Rep. Scott Holcomb (101st District) and Rep. Shaw Blackmon (146th District). Date: 2025-01-01 Tags: legal,policy,parole Sources: Georgia General Assembly, 71938 - [confirmed] HB 894 would authorize resentencing for life without parole The First Reader Summary of HB 894 describes an Act to amend Article 1 of Chapter 10 of Title 17 of the O.C.G.A., relating to procedure for sentencing, so as to authorize the sentencing court to review and resentence certain cases where the punishment of life without parole was imposed, providing for a petition and a hearing. Date: 2025-01-01 Tags: legal,policy,parole Sources: Georgia General Assembly, 71938 - [reported] Seven of 15 NY parole commissioners serving expired terms As of the Bolts article, seven of the New York Board of Parole's 15 current commissioners had exceeded the duration of their appointments without being renominated or going through another legislative confirmation process. Tags: parole,policy Sources: Vacancies and Zombie Commissioners Leave Opening for Parole Reform in New York | Bolts - [confirmed] HB 894 status: House Second Readers, no votes recorded As of 04/04/2025, HB 894 had reached House Second Readers after House First Readers on 04/02/2025 and House Hopper on 03/31/2025, with no votes recorded. Date: 2025-04-04 Tags: legal,policy Sources: Georgia General Assembly, 71938 - [confirmed] Swarthout v. Cooke: 'The Constitution does not require more' In Swarthout v. Cooke, the Court stated, quoting Greenholtz: 'The Constitution,' we held, 'does not require more.' Date: 2011-01-01 Tags: parole,legal Sources: Cite as: 562 U. S. ____ (2011) 1 - [reported] Michigan 650-lifer reform and parole eligibility Michigan Public Act 314 of 1998, signed July 28, 1998, made 650-lifer offenders sentenced under the 1973 law eligible for parole retroactively; 220 people were then serving sentences under the law, eligible for parole after serving 17-20 years. Date: 1998-01-01 Tags: legal,policy,parole Sources: Michigan Enacts Reform of "650-Lifer" Law - [reported] RAPP self-description as grassroots campaign led by formerly incarcerated people Release Aging People in Prison (RAPP) describes itself as a grassroots advocacy organization created and led by formerly incarcerated people, family members of people in prison, and advocates, working to end mass incarceration and promote racial justice through the release of aging people in prison. Tags: parole,policy Sources: About Us (rappcampaign.com) - [confirmed] HB 582 Georgia Survivor Justice Act sponsors The Georgia Survivor Justice Act (HB 582) is sponsored by Rep. Stan Gunter (8th), Rep. Matt Reeves (99th), Rep. Kimberly New (40th), Rep. Soo Hong (103rd), Rep. Tyler Paul Smith (18th), and Rep. James Burchett (176th), and sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Bo Hatchett. Date: 2025-01-01 Tags: legal,policy Sources: Georgia General Assembly, 70670 - [confirmed] HB 582 would allow evidence of family violence for justification defense The Georgia Survivor Justice Act bill's First Reader Summary describes an Act to amend Titles 16, 17, and 24 of the O.C.G.A., relating to crimes and offenses, criminal procedure, and evidence, so as to provide for defendants to support a justification defense by offering evidence of family violence, dating violence, or child abuse committed by the alleged victim. Date: 2025-01-01 Tags: legal,policy Sources: Georgia General Assembly, 70670 - [reported] No statistically significant recidivism difference after Drugs Minus Two retroactivity The U.S. Sentencing Commission found no statistically significant difference in the recidivism rates of offenders released an estimated average of 37 months early through the retroactive application of the Drugs Minus Two Amendment compared to a comparable group who served their full sentences. Tags: drugs,reentry,legal Sources: Retroactivity & Recidivism - [reported] Michigan 1998 Public Acts 314 and 319 amended 650-lifer law In 1998, Public Acts 314 and 319 amended the 650-lifer law to provide for a sentence of life or at least 20 years' imprisonment, rather than requiring a life sentence, and to provide for parole eligibility for people previously sentenced to life without possibility of parole for that offense. Date: 1998-01-01 Tags: legal,policy,parole Sources: State Notes (sfa.senate.michigan.gov) - [reported] 93rd Minnesota Legislature DFL control The 93rd Minnesota Legislature was the first legislature to be fully DFL-controlled since the 88th Minnesota Legislature in 2013-15. Tags: legal,policy Sources: 93rd Minnesota Legislature - Wikipedia - [confirmed] HB 582 enacted as Act 131, effective July 1, 2025 The Georgia Survivor Justice Act bill was signed by the Governor on 05/12/2025 as Act 131, with an effective date of 07/01/2025, after passing the House 166-2 on 03/06/2025, the Senate 53-1 on 04/02/2025, and the House again 164-0 on 04/04/2025 on the Senate substitute. Date: 2025-01-01 Tags: legal,policy Sources: Georgia General Assembly, 70670 - [reported] CRPC recommends resentencing eligibility for 8,500 under-26 and 11,700 over-50 long-term prisoners The California Committee on Revision of the Penal Code recommended that resentencing be more widely available, beginning with limited categories of eligibility such as people who have served at least 15 years and were either under age 26 at the time of offense (around 8,500 people) or are currently over the age of 50 (around 11,700 people), allowing judges to focus on people who present the lowest risk to public safety. Date: 2023-01-01 Tags: sentencing,policy,legal Sources: clrc.ca.gov: CRPC AR2023 - [reported] Michigan 2002 Public Acts 665, 666, 670 eliminated drug mandatory minimums Michigan Public Acts 665, 666, and 670 of 2002 amend the Public Health Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure, and the Corrections Code to eliminate the mandatory minimum sentences for manufacturing, creating, delivering, possessing with intent, and possessing a Schedule 1 or 2 narcotic or cocaine, and provide for parole eligibility of people sentenced before March 1, 2003. Date: 2002-01-01 Tags: drugs,legal,policy,parole Sources: State Notes (sfa.senate.michigan.gov) - [reported] CRPC: direct court applications for resentencing increase access without harming safety The California Committee on Revision of the Penal Code's 'Expand Second-Look Resentencing' recommendation states that allowing people to apply directly to courts for resentencing, without relying on or waiting for law enforcement to identify them, will increase access to resentencing without harming public safety. Date: 2023-01-01 Tags: sentencing,policy,legal Sources: clrc.ca.gov: CRPC AR2023 - [reported] 102nd Illinois General Assembly convened Jan 13, 2021, adjourned Jan 10, 2023 The 102nd Illinois General Assembly, consisting of the Illinois House and Illinois Senate, convened on January 13, 2021, and adjourned sine die on January 10, 2023. Tags: legal,policy Sources: 102nd Illinois General Assembly - Wikipedia - [reported] California County Resentencing Pilot filled gap by focusing on crimes against persons RAND's evaluation found that the California County Resentencing Pilot Program filled a gap in sentencing policies by focusing on crimes against persons, and that each county developed its own eligibility criteria for resentencing consideration, focusing on factors such as the age of the inmate, the crime committed, and the length and other details of the sentence. Tags: legal,policy,parole Sources: Evaluation of the California County Resentencing Pilot Program: Year 3 Findings - [reported] 102nd Illinois General Assembly election results The election that decided the membership of the 102nd Illinois General Assembly resulted in the Democratic supermajority gaining one seat in the Senate and losing one seat to the Republican party in the House of Representatives. Tags: legal,policy Sources: 102nd Illinois General Assembly - Wikipedia - [reported] NY elder parole legislation stalled; Medicaid reentry passed New York lawmakers did not move forward with a package of parole changes, including elder parole measures, that would have expanded early release opportunities for older people in prison; elder parole measures saw no action that legislative session. Tags: parole,legislation Sources: NY Passes Medicaid Reentry Bill As Elder Parole Stalls - [reported] Michigan 2018 Senate Republican supermajority loss The Republican Party maintained control of both chambers of the Michigan State Legislature in the 2018 election, but the Michigan State Senate lost its Republican supermajority status after it no longer held the minimum 26 seats necessary. Date: 2018-01-01 Tags: legal,policy Sources: Michigan State Senate elections, 2018 - Ballotpedia - [confirmed] New York A00514 elder parole interview provision New York Assembly bill A00514, sponsored by Davila, adds new subdivisions to Executive Law section 259-c providing that a person 55 or older who has served at least 15 years of a sentence shall have an interview with the Board of Parole to determine whether they should be released, within 60 days of their 55th birthday or the last day of the 15th year of their sentence, whichever is later; if release is not granted, a subsequent interview follows no more than 24 months later. Date: 2025-01-01 Tags: parole,legal,legislation Sources: Bill Search and Legislative Information | New York State Assembly, leg [1] - [reported] One NY parole reform signed 2021; Elder and Fair and Timely Parole stalled State lawmakers had already passed one parole reform measure, which Gov. Kathy Hochul signed in 2021, but the Elder Parole bill and the Fair and Timely Parole bill had languished in the Legislature since then. Tags: parole,legislation Sources: Elder Parole bill gains majority support in state Senate - City & State New York - [reported] Second Look Act reintroduced: petition after 10 years served U.S. Representative Sydney Kamlager-Dove and U.S. Senator Cory Booker reintroduced legislation that would allow individuals serving decades-long federal sentences to petition courts for a sentence reduction or release after having served at least 10 years. Date: 2024-01-01 Tags: legal,policy Sources: Kamlager-Dove, Booker Reintroduce Second Look Act to Reform Sentencing and Reduce Incarceration | Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove - [reported] Michigan objective parole bill no entitlement to parole The Michigan House Fiscal Agency's bill analysis states the objective parole bill 'would specify that there is no entitlement to parole' and would result in 'a savings to the state, eventually.' Tags: legal,policy,parole,budget Sources: Legislative Analysis (legislature.mi.gov) - [reported] Mississippi Senate Republican control 2012-2016 In the 2012–2016 Mississippi State Senate, party control was Republican. Tags: legal,policy Sources: 2012–2016 Mississippi Legislature - Wikipedia - [reported] Second Look Act rebuttable presumption of release at age 50+ The Second Look Act would create a rebuttable presumption of release for petitioners who are 50 years of age or older on the date of the petition. Date: 2024-01-01 Tags: legal,policy,parole Sources: Kamlager-Dove, Booker Reintroduce Second Look Act to Reform Sentencing and Reduce Incarceration | Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove - [reported] Michigan objective parole bill projected eventual savings The Michigan House Fiscal Agency's fiscal analysis of the objective parole bill projected the bill 'would result in a savings to the state, eventually.' Tags: legal,policy,parole,budget Sources: Legislative Analysis (legislature.mi.gov) - [confirmed] S. 5396 Second Look Act introduced by Senator Booker, referred to Judiciary The federal Second Look Act bill in the 118th Congress was introduced by Senator Cory A. Booker of New Jersey, who introduced the bill and had it read twice and referred to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Date: 2024-01-01 Tags: legal,policy Sources: S. 5396 (IS) - Second Look Act of 2024 - BILLS-118s5396is | Content Details | GovInfo - [reported] Five states passed prosecutor-initiated resentencing laws; Georgia considered but did not vote Louisiana was one of five states that had recently passed prosecutor-initiated resentencing laws, along with California, Washington, Illinois and Oregon; five other states - New York, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Georgia and Maryland - considered similar bills, though none were brought to a vote. Tags: legal,policy Sources: Prosecutors in These States Can Review Sentences They Deem Extreme. Few Do. | The Marshall Project - [confirmed] S. 5396 introduced November 21, 2024 The federal Second Look Act of 2024, S. 5396, was introduced in the Senate on November 21, 2024, in the 118th Congress. Date: 2024-11-21 Tags: legal,policy Sources: S. 5396 (IS) - Second Look Act of 2024 - BILLS-118s5396is | Content Details | GovInfo - [reported] H.R. 8549 Second Look Act of 2026 introduced in House H.R. 8549 is titled the Second Look Act of 2026 and is catalogued by GovInfo as BILLS-119hr8549ih, an introduced House bill. Date: 2026-01-01 Tags: legal,policy Sources: H.R. 8549 (IH) - Second Look Act of 2026 - BILLS-119hr8549ih | Content Details | GovInfo TRENDS (4) ---------------------------------------- - [reported] NY parole racial disparity trend 2016–2023 From 2016 to 2021, New York's Parole Board was 19% less likely to release people of color than white people, compared to 30% less likely in 2022 and 2023 and 32% less likely in the first quarter of 2023. Tags: parole,legal,demographics Sources: The Problem (law.nyu.edu) - [reported] NY parole approval rate decline 2018-2022 DOCCS Board of Parole data shows the Total Initial approval rate (excluding Shock) decreased by 10 percentage points from 44% in 2018 to 34% in 2022, and the Total Non-Administrative approval rate decreased by 8 percentage points from 44% in 2018 to 36% in 2022. Tags: parole,legal Sources: Board of Parole, 2022 parole board legislative report - [reported] NY A-1 violent felony parole interviews decline 28% 2018-2022 The number of Initial Interviews for A-1 Violent Felony Offenses declined by 28% between 2018 and 2022, while the approval rate for these cases increased by 6 percentage points from 36% in 2018 to 42% in 2022. Tags: parole,legal Sources: Board of Parole, 2022 parole board legislative report - [reported] NY A-1 violent offense parole approval rate trend 2017-2021 DOCCS Board of Parole data for Initial Interviews shows the A-1 Violent Offenses parole approval rate rose each year from 30% in 2017 (102 of 339 interviews granted) to 36% in 2018, 37% in 2019, 38% in 2020, and 41% in 2021 (128 of 315 interviews granted). Tags: parole,legal Sources: Board of Parole, 2021 parole board leg report final CASE DETAILS (6) ---------------------------------------- - [reported] Unger case scope and origin The Unger case centered on remedying improper jury instructions and applied to a cohort of people who had been sentenced to life in prison prior to 1981. Date: 2012-01-01 Tags: legal,parole Sources: The Ungers, 5 Years and Counting: A Case Study in Safely Reducing Long Prison Terms and Saving Taxpayer Dollars - The Abell Foundation - [confirmed] Hochul grants clemency to 13: 4 commutations, 9 pardons Governor Hochul commuted the sentences of four individuals and granted pardons to nine individuals in a clemency announcement. Tags: parole,legal Sources: Governor Hochul Grants Clemency to Thirteen Individuals | Governor Kathy Hochul | New York State - [confirmed] Bruce Bryant clemency case: 30+ years served of 37.5-to-life Bruce Bryant, 53, convicted of Murder in the Second Degree, Attempted Murder in the Second Degree, and Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree in 1996, had served more than 30 years out of a 37.5-year to life sentence when granted clemency. Tags: parole,legal Sources: Governor Hochul Grants Clemency to Thirteen Individuals | Governor Kathy Hochul | New York State - [confirmed] Daniel O'Donnell joined NY Board of Parole in 2025 after 2003-2024 Assembly tenure Commissioner Daniel O'Donnell joined the New York State Board of Parole in 2025, having served as New York State Assemblymember representing the 69th district from 2003-2024. Date: 2025-01-01 Tags: parole Sources: Commissioner Daniel O’Donnell | Department of Corrections and Community Supervision - [confirmed] Daniel O'Donnell confirmed by NY Senate June 12, 2025 Daniel O'Donnell was confirmed by the NYS Senate on June 12, 2025. Date: 2025-01-01 Tags: parole Sources: Commissioner Daniel O’Donnell | Department of Corrections and Community Supervision - [reported] Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board votes 527 commutations The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board voted to send 527 names to Governor Kevin Stitt for approval, in what is believed to be the largest single prison sentence commutation in U.S. history. Tags: legal,parole,policy Sources: 'The will of the people': Stitt to sign record 527 commutations POLICYS (9) ---------------------------------------- - [reported] Utah sixth state, first Republican-led, to authorize PIR Utah became the sixth state in the nation and the first Republican-led state to authorize Prosecutor-Initiated Resentencing (PIR), with the rule enacted by the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole as an administrative rule rather than through legislation. Tags: policy,legal,parole Sources: Utah Becomes First Republican-Led State to Allow Prosecutor-Initiated Resentencing - Right On Crime - [reported] Utah compassionate release criteria The Utah Board of Pardons and Parole will consider a compassionate release if an incarcerated individual's public safety and recidivism risk is significantly reduced due to the effects or symptoms of advancing age, medical infirmity, disease, or disability, or mental health disease or disability. Tags: policy,parole,medical,mental_health Sources: Frequently Asked Questions | Board of Pardons & Parole - [confirmed] Parole Board has constitutional authority to grant medical reprieve The State Board of Pardons and Paroles states on its own website that it has constitutional authority to grant a medical reprieve to any inmate it finds to be entirely incapacitated due to a progressively debilitating terminal illness. Tags: parole,medical,policy Sources: Reprieves and Commutations | State Board of Pardons and Paroles - [reported] Federal Elderly Offender/Terminally Ill program authority expired end of FY2023 The Federal Bureau of Prisons' authority to make referrals for the Elderly Offender and Terminally Ill program under 34 U.S.C. 60541 expired at the end of fiscal year 2023; from January 2023 through September 2023 there were 31 individuals placed in the program, and the FBOP has placed approximately 1,250 individuals in this program since April 2019. Date: 2023-01-01 Tags: policy,reentry,legal Sources: U.S. Department of Justice, first step act annual report june 2024 - [confirmed] Board rule 475-3-.05: parole guidelines create no liberty interest In Sultenfuss v. Snow, the Board's own rule 475-3-.05 states that the Georgia Parole Decision Guidelines System "is an aid to the Board in making more consistent, soundly based and explainable parole decisions and does not create a liberty interest," reserving the Board's right to exercise discretion to disagree with the guidelines recommendation. Tags: parole,policy,legal Sources: Stephen Sultenfuss, Charles McMulling v. Wayne Snow, Jr., James T. Morris, Mobley Howell, Michael... – CourtListener.com - [reported] Cook County Resentencing Initiative eligibility criteria The Cook County State's Attorney's Office Resentencing Initiative includes criteria for persons who have served at least 10 years of sentence for a drug-related offense, persons age 65 or older who have served at least 20 years for a non-sex and non-homicide offense, persons under 21 at the time of offense who have served at least 15 years for a non-sex and non-homicide offense, and persons who have served at least 10 years for a theft/robbery/burglary offense. Tags: legal,policy,parole Sources: Office of the State's Attorney - [reported] King County Sentence Review Unit priority case categories King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office Sentence Review Unit's priority case categories include non-homicide cases with sentences of 15 years or more where there are no serious injuries and non-homicide cases with sentences of 20 years or more where injuries are deemed minor. Date: 2022-01-01 Tags: legal,sentencing,policy Sources: Criminal Justice Section Criminal Justice Winter 2022 - [confirmed] New York parole regulation requires individualized reasons for departing from risk assessment New York's Board of Parole regulation on parole release decision-making provides that if a Board determination denying release departs from the Department Risk and Needs Assessment's scores, the Board shall specify any scale from which it departed and provide an individualized reason for such departure. Tags: parole,legal,policy Sources: N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 9 § 8002.2 - Parole release decision-making | State Regulations | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute - [confirmed] New York parole regulation: Board guided by risk and needs principles Under this provision of the Board of Parole's regulations, in making a release determination the Board shall be guided by risk and needs principles, including the inmate's risk and needs scores as generated by a periodically-validated risk assessment instrument prepared by DOCCS, and if a Board determination denying release departs from those scores the Board must specify the scale it departed from and provide an individualized reason. Tags: parole,legal,policy Sources: N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 9 § 8002.2 - Parole release decision-making | State Regulations | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute METHODOLOGY NOTES (4) ---------------------------------------- - [reported] USSC Drugs Minus Two study: 7,121 retroactivity group vs 7,132 comparison group This USSC study examines 7,121 federal offenders who received a reduced sentence through retroactive application of the Drugs Minus Two Amendment and a comparable group of 7,132 offenders who were released from federal prison without the benefit of the retroactive reduction. Tags: drugs,reentry,legal Sources: Retroactivity & Recidivism - [confirmed] CDCR recidivism report covers 36,086 releases in FY2018-19 CDCR's recidivism report examines recidivism outcomes defined as arrest, conviction, and return-to-prison rates for the 36,086 individuals released from CDCR's adult institutions between July 1, 2018 and June 30, 2019. Tags: reentry,parole,methodology Sources: Statewide Recidivism Report for Individuals Released in Fiscal Year 2018-19 - [confirmed] DOCCS recidivism measure: 3-year return-to-custody rate DOCCS defines its recidivism measure in the 2018 Releases report as return rates based on a three-year follow-up period, covering both individuals released from parole program facilities and those released from correctional facilities in 2018. Date: 2018-01-01 Tags: reentry,parole Sources: 2018 Releases from Custody - [reported] USSC retroactivity data cutoff: motions granted through April 30, 2019 The USSC's June 2019 retroactivity data report states the data reflects all Section 404 First Step Act motions granted through April 30, 2019 and for which court documentation was received, coded, and edited at the Commission by May 17, 2019. Date: 2019-01-01 Tags: legal,policy Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission, 201900607 First Step Act Retro DATA GAPS (2) ---------------------------------------- - [confirmed] No match for geriatric inmate age provisions in Alabama furlough statute A search of Alabama Code § 14-14-3 (2025), Eligibility for Furlough, for 'geriatric inmate', '55 years of age' and 'age of 55' returned no match. Date: 2025-01-01 Tags: legal,parole Sources: Alabama Code § 14-14-3 (2025) - Eligibility for Furlough - [confirmed] No match for passage actions on NY Assembly bill A00514 A search of the New York State Assembly bill search page for A00514 for 'passed assembly', 'passed senate', 'signed by governor', 'chapter' and 'delivered to governor' returned no match. Tags: legal,legislation Sources: Bill Search and Legislative Information | New York State Assembly, leg [1] DATASETS (14) ---------------------------------------- # Maryland HB 853 projected OPD general fund expenditures FY2026-FY2030 Projected General Fund expenditures for the Office of the Public Defender under HB 853, by fiscal year, in dollars. Fiscal Year GF Expenditure ----------------------------- FY 2026 538100 FY 2027 642100 FY 2028 670500 FY 2029 700400 FY 2030 730300 # NY DOCCS 2008 Release Cohort: Returns by Age Group Three-year return-to-custody rates for the 2008 release cohort by age at release. Age Group Releases Returned Return Rate ---------------------------------------------- Total 26867 10688 39.8 Under 21 1243 617 49.6 21+ 25624 10071 39.3 16-18 229 131 57.2 19-20 1014 486 47.9 21-24 3610 1616 44.8 25-29 4979 1961 39.4 30-34 3928 1522 38.7 35-39 3710 1487 40.1 40-44 3910 1608 41.1 45-49 2970 1140 38.4 50-64 2352 709 30.1 65 and Over 165 28 17 # New York A-1 Violent Offenses Parole Initial Interviews and Approval Rates, 2017-2021 Number of initial parole interviews and approvals for A-1 violent offenses, with approval rate, from DOCCS Board of Parole data. Year Interviews Approvals Approval Rate -------------------------------------------- 2017 339 102 30 2018 368 133 36 2019 343 127 37 2020 338 128 38 2021 315 128 41 # Virginia Parole Board geriatric parole decisions and grants by offender type Annual counts of Virginia Parole Board geriatric parole decisions and grants, split between parole-eligible offenders and truth-in-sentencing offenders considered for geriatric conditional release. Year labels not specified in source excerpts. Period Total Decisions Parole-Eligible Decisions Truth-in-Sentencing Decisions Total Grants Parole-Eligible Grants Truth-in-Sentencing Grants ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Period A 725 178 Period B 759 184 575 24 10 14 Period C 901 193 708 77 21 56 Period D 566 71 495 # Virginia Parole Board Geriatric Conditional Release Decisions and Grants, CY2018-CY2021 Annual counts of total decisions and grants for geriatric conditional release by the Virginia Parole Board, broken down by parole-eligible and truth-in-sentencing offenders. Year Total Decisions Total Grants Parole-Eligible Decisions Parole-Eligible Grants Truth-in-Sentencing Decisions Truth-in-Sentencing Grants --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2018 725 55 178 11 547 44 2019 759 24 184 10 575 14 2020 901 77 193 21 708 56 2021 566 21 71 2 495 19 # First Step Act Section 404 Resentencing Outcomes (National Total) National totals for cases granted sentence reductions under Section 404 of the First Step Act of 2018, showing mean current sentence, mean new sentence, mean months decreased, and mean percent decrease. N Mean Current Sentence Mean New Sentence Mean Decrease Mean Percent Decrease -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2523 274 202 72 24.8 # BJS 10-year cumulative return-to-prison rates by age at release (24 states) Cumulative percentage of released state prisoners returned to prison for a parole/probation violation or new sentence, by age at release, Years 1-10. Age at release Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 24 or younger 34.3 48.6 55.3 59.4 62.7 64.7 66.5 67.6 68.5 69 25-39 31.6 44.3 50.2 54.3 57.1 59.3 60.9 61.9 62.9 63.5 40 or older 27.9 38 43.4 46.4 48.5 50.1 51.2 51.9 52.6 53 40-54 28.8 39.3 44.9 48 50.2 51.9 53.1 53.9 54.6 55.1 55-64 20.4 28.4 32.3 34.5 35.8 36.6 37.2 37.4 37.5 37.7 65 or older 25.5 28 31.3 31.8 32.1 32.5 32.6 32.7 32.7 32.7 # California CDCR Recidivism by Age at Release (FY2018-19) Three-year conviction rates for individuals released from CDCR adult institutions in FY2018-19, by age group. Age Group Released Three-Year Convictions Three-Year Conviction Rate --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18 and 19 157 96 61.1 60 and over 1329 219 16.5 # Recidivism rates for CDCR-initiated resentencing releases vs total CDCR releases New conviction rates within 1, 2, and 3 years for people released via CDCR-initiated resentencing compared to all CDCR releases. Group 1-year new conviction rate 2-year new conviction rate 3-year new conviction rate -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CDCR-initiated resentencing releases 4 10 14 Total CDCR releases 21 33 42 # NY DOCCS 2018 Release Cohort: Returns by Age Group Three-year return-to-custody rates for the 2018 release cohort by age at release. Age Group Releases Returned Return Rate ---------------------------------------------- Total 20921 6613 31.6 Under 21 501 202 40.3 21+ 20420 6411 31.4 16-18 85 41 48.2 19-20 416 161 38.7 21-24 2011 835 41.5 25-29 4083 1452 35.6 30-34 3658 1200 32.8 35-39 3029 947 31.3 40-44 2119 597 28.2 45-49 1857 486 26.2 50-64 3338 864 25.9 65 and Over 325 30 9.2 # State comparison: geriatric parole minimum age, sentence served, and exclusions Virginia State Crime Commission Table 12 comparing geriatric parole eligibility thresholds and statutory exclusions across states. State Minimum Age Minimum Sentence Served Statutory Exclusions ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Georgia 62 None No exclusions set forth in state parole statutes Louisiana 45 20 years (also 60 years / 10 years) Crime of violence; felony sex offense Maryland 60 15 years Crime requiring sex offender registration Mississippi 60 10 years and one-fourth of total sentence Habitual offender; crime of violence; trafficking in controlled substance; felony sex offense Oklahoma 60 10 years or one-third of sentence, whichever is less Violent offenses (Okla. Stat. tit. 21, § 13.1); persons required to register as sex offender Colorado 64 20 years Class 1 or 2 felony; unlawful sexual behavior; crimes involving domestic violence; stalking Texas 65 None Aggravated offense of violent or sexual nature only if terminally ill or in need of long-term care # Recidivism Rates by Age Category, USSC Release Cohort 2010 Rearrest rates over an eight-year follow-up period for older offenders versus offenders under 50 in the U.S. Sentencing Commission's 2010 release cohort. Age Category N Percent Rearrested ----------------------------------------------- Offenders Under 50 28044 53.4 Older Offenders 4091 21.3 # BJS 10-year cumulative arrest rates by age at release (24 states) Cumulative percentage of released state prisoners arrested, by age at release, with cohort sizes, Years 1-10. Age at release Released prisoners Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 24 or younger 62700 49.8 66.8 75 79.5 82.7 85.2 86.8 87.8 88.6 89.5 25-39 206000 44.1 60.3 68.7 73.8 77.6 80 81.6 82.9 83.9 84.7 40 or older 140600 37.9 50.8 58.6 63.7 67.2 69.9 71.6 72.8 73.7 74.5 40-54 124600 39.2 52.6 60.7 66 69.6 72.3 74.1 75.4 76.3 77.2 55-64 13600 28.5 37.3 43.6 47.2 49.9 52.6 54.1 54.9 55.6 56.1 65 or older 2300 22.9 33.6 36 37.3 38.4 38.5 39.5 39.7 39.9 40.1 # BJS 5-year cumulative arrest, conviction, and return-to-prison rates by age at release Cumulative outcomes for released state prisoners by age at release, Years 1-5, for arrests, convictions, and return to prison. Age at release Released prisoners Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 55-64 (arrest) 19100 22.3 33.8 39 43.4 46.3 65 or older (arrest) 3100 13.8 17.7 21.3 23.9 25.6 55-64 (conviction) 12.1 20.6 25.1 28 30.5 65 or older (conviction) 4.8 7.7 10.3 12.4 13 55-64 (return to prison) 11.3 17.4 21.1 23 24.5 65 or older (return to prison) 5.1 9.2 10.7 13.6 14.4 KEY ENTITIES (176) ---------------------------------------- - 18 U.S.C. 3582 [legislation]: Federal compassionate release statute allowing sentence reduction for defendants at least 70 years old who served at least 30 years under section 3559(c). (aka: 3582) - 650-lifer law [legislation]: Michigan 1973 law mandating life without parole for possessing/delivering over 650 grams of cocaine or heroin; reformed in 1998 and 2002. (aka: 1973 650-lifer law) - 81st Oregon Legislative Assembly [organization]: Oregon legislative session in which Democrats retained supermajorities (18-12 Senate, 37-23 House). - A01283 [legislation]: New York Assembly bill authorizing certain incarcerated persons to apply for sentence reduction. (aka: S00158) - AB 1448 [legislation]: California legislation enacted in 2018 that codified the Elderly Parole Program into Penal Code § 3055. (aka: Assembly Bill 1448) - AB 2942 [legislation]: California's first prosecutor-initiated resentencing law, chaptered as Chapter 1001, Statutes of 2018. (aka: California AB 2942 (2018)) - AB 3234 [legislation]: California legislation enacted January 1, 2021, lowering the Elderly Parole Program age to 50 and years served to 20. (aka: Assembly Bill 3234) - AB 600 [legislation]: California law authorizing judges beginning in 2024 to recall a sentence when sentencing rules have changed, but without a process for incarcerated people to request resentencing. (aka: AB 600 (Ting)) - ACLU of Maryland [organization]: The Maryland affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union. - Adams v. Nebraska Board of Parole [case]: 2016 Nebraska Supreme Court decision holding that the Legislature may set parole eligibility conditions. (aka: Brian J. Adams v. State of Nebraska Board of Parole) - Alameda County [organization]: California county whose prosecutor-initiated resentencing program was studied by UC Berkeley Law. - American Law Institute [organization]: Organization that developed the Model Penal Code in 1962, which addresses the split sentence in Section 301.1(3). - April Baskin [person]: New York State Senator; 31st co-sponsor of the Elder Parole bill. (aka: State Sen. April Baskin) - Board of Pardons v. Allen [case]: 482 U.S. 369 (1987); Supreme Court case on Montana parole statute using mandatory language creating a presumption of release, distinguished in Sultenfuss. - Bruce Bryant [person]: Clemency recipient; served 30+ years of a 37.5-to-life sentence. - Bureau of Justice Statistics [organization]: Federal statistical agency within DOJ that collected and published mortality in correctional institutions data from approximately 2000 until 2019. (aka: BJS) - Byrd v. State [case]: Georgia Court of Appeals decision (236 Ga. App. 485, 512 S.E.2d 372) holding that the serious violent offender punishment statute does not violate separation of powers. - California AB-2942 [legislation]: California bill allowing recall and resentencing upon district attorney recommendation. (aka: AB-2942) - California AB-600 [legislation]: California bill authorizing court recall of sentence if sentencing laws change. (aka: AB-600) - California Board of Parole Hearings [organization]: California state agency that conducts parole suitability hearings and sets parole conditions. - California Committee on Revision of the Penal Code [organization]: California advisory body that reviews and recommends reforms to the penal code. (aka: CRPC) - California County Resentencing Pilot Program [program]: California pilot program in six counties allowing prosecutor-initiated resentencing, evaluated by RAND. (aka: County Resentencing Pilot, PIR pilot) - California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation [organization]: California state agency responsible for operating the state prison system; defendant in Brown v. Plata litigation (aka: CDCR, California prisons) - California Elderly Parole Program [program]: California program reviewing parole suitability for inmates 50 or older who have served at least 20 years. - California Penal Code § 1172.1 [legislation]: California statute governing prosecutor-initiated resentencing, including a presumption favoring recall and resentencing. (aka: Penal Code section 1172.1) - California Penal Code § 3055 [legislation]: California statute establishing the Elderly Parole Program. (aka: Penal Code section 3055) - California Policy Lab [organization]: Research center at the University of California that studies criminal justice and social policy. - California Proposition 36 [legislation]: California ballot initiative that reformed the Three Strikes law and allowed resentencing for certain prisoners. (aka: Prop 36, Three Strikes Reform) - California Proposition 47 [legislation]: California ballot initiative that reduced certain drug and property offenses from felonies to misdemeanors and allowed resentencing. (aka: Prop 47) - Campbell v. State [case]: 1997 Supreme Court of Georgia decision addressing the Sentence Reform Act and OCGA § 17-10-6.1 parole bars for serious violent felonies. - Colorado House Bill 23-1292 [legislation]: Colorado law allowing habitual offenders sentenced to 24+ years to petition for modification after 10 years. (aka: HB23-1292) - Connecticut [organization]: U.S. state that has cut prison population over 50% from its peak. - Connecticut Board of Pardons and Paroles [organization]: Connecticut board that grants compassionate parole release. - Cook County State's Attorney's Office [organization]: Prosecutor's office operating a Resentencing Initiative with specified eligibility criteria. - Cory Booker [person]: U.S. Senator from New Jersey who introduced S. 5396 and co-reintroduced the Second Look Act. (aka: Cory A. Booker) - Daniel O'Donnell [person]: Joined NY Board of Parole in 2025; former Assemblymember (2003-2024). (aka: Commissioner Daniel O'Donnell) - Delaware [legislation]: State that abolished JLWOP in 2013 and expanded second-look eligibility in July 2025 to those who served at least 25 years. - Delaware Department of Correction [organization]: Delaware state agency responsible for corrections. (aka: DOC) - Delegate Pasteur [person]: Maryland Delegate who sponsored HB0853, the Maryland Second Look Act. - District of Columbia [organization]: The federal district, which has its own second look sentencing laws. (aka: D.C.) - District of Columbia Second Look Act [legislation]: Proposed DC legislation to extend the Incarceration Reduction Amendment Act to defendants who committed crimes before age 25. (aka: Bill 23-0127) - DOJ Office of the Inspector General [organization]: DOJ oversight body that investigates federal Bureau of Prisons facilities (aka: OIG) - Elder Parole bill [legislation]: New York bill to allow incarcerated people 55+ who have served 15+ years to apply for parole; introduced 2018, gained majority Senate co-sponsorship in 2025. - Fair and Timely Parole Act [legislation]: New York bill to reform parole release; not enacted as of 2026. (aka: NY Assembly bill A00127) - Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 [legislation]: Federal law effective August 3, 2010, whose penalty changes underpin First Step Act Section 404 retroactivity. - Federal Bureau of Prisons [organization]: Federal agency responsible for operating federal prisons in the United States. (aka: BOP, Federal BOP) - First Step Act [legislation]: Federal legislation enacted in 2018 that codified a ban on juvenile solitary confinement in the federal system. The only enacted federal legislation directly addressing solitary confinement. - For The People [organization]: Advocacy group supporting prosecutor-initiated resentencing. - Free Minds Book Club [organization]: Organization serving IRAA recipients in the community; reports 3% recidivism among those served. - Freeman v. State [case]: Georgia Supreme Court decision cited for the proposition that the General Assembly is constitutionally empowered to determine parole eligibility by statute. (aka: 264 Ga. 27, 29 (1994)) - FWD.us [organization]: Policy advocacy organization that published the 2025 'We Can't Afford It' report estimating the $350 billion annual family tax of incarceration - George Gascón [person]: Former Los Angeles County District Attorney who initiated resentencing for 300 people. - Georgia [organization]: U.S. state that is the subject of this criminal justice data compilation (aka: State of Georgia) - Georgia Attorney General [organization]: Georgia's chief law enforcement officer, member of the State Bar of Georgia Board of Governors, with supervisory authority over the prosecutorial function including power to appoint substitute prosecutors under O.C.G.A. § 15-18-5. (aka: AG) - Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles [organization]: Georgia's parole authority, operates reentry services including Reentry Partnership Housing (RPH) - Georgia Constitution [legislation]: The state constitution that provides for the establishment of the State Board of Pardons and Paroles and defines its authority. (aka: State Constitution) - Georgia Department of Corrections [organization]: State agency responsible for operating Georgia's prison system. Subject of federal DOJ investigation in 2022-2023 for constitutional violations including food-related deaths. (aka: GDC) - Georgia General Assembly [organization]: Georgia state legislature. Has not advanced legislation to address prison labor compensation or remove the state's slavery exception. A two-thirds vote in both chambers would be required to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. - Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles [organization]: Georgia state agency responsible for parole decisions - Greene v. Georgia Pardons & Parole Bd. [case]: N.D. Ga. 1992 decision holding that O.C.G.A. § 42-9-42 does not create a liberty interest in parole, so no procedural due process violation could occur. (aka: Greene v. Georgia Pardons & Parole Board) - Greenholtz v. Inmates of Neb. Penal and Correctional Complex [case]: Supreme Court case cited in Sandin as foreshadowing the Hewitt methodology on liberty interests. (aka: Greenholtz, 442 U.S. 1 (1979)) - Greenholtz v. Inmates of Nebraska Penal Complex [case]: U.S. Supreme Court decision holding that Nebraska's mandatory 'shall' parole statute created a protected expectation of parole. (aka: Greenholtz, 442 U.S. 1 (1979)) - Hayward v. Danforth [case]: Case that cites the Stephens/Terry line of authority. - HB 1176 [legislation]: 2012 Georgia legislation expanding accountability courts and capping probation terms as part of Governor Deal's criminal justice reform (aka: Governor Deal's criminal justice reform package) - HB 1269 [legislation]: Oklahoma 2019 law applying sentencing changes retroactively and enabling an accelerated single-stage commutation docket. (aka: Oklahoma HB 1269) - HB 349 [legislation]: 2013 Georgia criminal justice reform law allowing judicial deviation from certain drug mandatory minimums; amended O.C.G.A. §§ 17-10-6.1 and 16-13-31. (aka: House Bill 349) - HB 582 [legislation]: 2025 legislative priority updating Georgia code to reflect modern understanding of domestic violence and prevent unjust convictions of survivors (aka: Survivor Justice) - HB 894 [legislation]: A bill in the 2025-2026 Georgia General Assembly session to authorize sentencing courts to review and resentence certain cases where life without parole was imposed. (aka: Georgia Second Look Act) - Hewitt v. Helms [case]: U.S. Supreme Court case (1983) that made explicit what was implicit in Greenholtz regarding mandatory language and substantive predicates. (aka: Hewitt) - Illinois Compiled Statutes [legislation]: Codified laws of Illinois, including prosecutor-initiated resentencing provisions. (aka: 725 ILCS 5) - Illinois General Assembly [organization]: Illinois state legislature. - Illinois SB2129 [legislation]: Illinois law authorizing prosecutor-initiated resentencing. (aka: SB2129) - IRAA [legislation]: District of Columbia law allowing sentence reduction motions for certain defendants; the document references IRAA motions and rulings. (aka: Incarceration Reduction Amendment Act) - John Bel Edwards [person]: Governor of Louisiana who signed the 2017 Justice Reinvestment bills. - John Engler [person]: Republican Governor of Michigan who signed 1998 650-lifer reforms. - Juvenile Restoration Act [legislation]: Maryland law allowing individuals convicted as adults for offenses committed as minors to seek sentence reduction after 20 years. (aka: JUVRA) - Kathy Hochul [person]: Governor of New York; granted clemency to 13 individuals and signed a 2021 parole reform. (aka: Governor Hochul) - Kevin Stitt [person]: Governor of Oklahoma who approved 527 commutations in 2019. - King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office [organization]: The prosecuting attorney's office for King County, Washington, which has a Sentence Review Unit. (aka: KCPAO) - Klint Kesto [person]: Michigan State Representative who introduced House Bill 5377 of 2018. - L.B. 50 [legislation]: Nebraska legislative bill establishing new parole eligibility provisions whose retroactive application the Nebraska Supreme Court upheld against a commutation challenge. - Larry Hogan [person]: Governor of Maryland who signed the 2016 Justice Reinvestment Act and vetoed the juvenile life without parole abolition bill. - Los Angeles County [organization]: County in California where Gilliam & Iyengar analyzed local TV news crime coverage - Louisiana Act 280 [legislation]: Louisiana law retroactively modifying good time release dates for nonviolent offenses. (aka: Act 280) - Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections [organization]: Holds the fourth-largest LWOP population in the nation (3,900 people), with a notable decrease of 473 people from 2020 to 2024. (aka: Louisiana) - Louisiana Legislature [organization]: The legislative body of the state of Louisiana. - Louisiana Supreme Court [organization]: Highest court of Louisiana; decided State v. Dick and State ex rel. Esteen v. State on retroactive sentencing relief. - Maryland General Assembly [organization]: The legislative body of the state of Maryland. - Maryland Justice Reinvestment Coordinating Council [organization]: A bipartisan council that developed Maryland's 2016 Justice Reinvestment Act recommendations. - Maryland Office of the Public Defender [organization]: The state agency providing public defense services in Maryland. - Michigan Department of Corrections [organization]: Michigan state corrections agency that contracted with Aramark (2013-2015) and Trinity Services Group (2015-2018) for food service before returning to in-house operations in 2018. (aka: MDOC) - Michigan House Fiscal Agency [organization]: Michigan legislative agency that analyzed the 2018 objective parole bill. - Michigan Legislature [organization]: Michigan's legislative body; enacted 2018 PA 339 and 2022 PA 28 amending MCL 791.233e. - Minnesota Judicial Branch [organization]: The court system of Minnesota, which provided data on sentence adjustment petitions granted in FY2025. - Minnesota Legislature [organization]: The legislative branch of the state of Minnesota, which enacted the prosecutor-initiated sentence adjustment statute (Minn. Stat. § 609.133). (aka: 93rd Minnesota Legislature) - Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission [organization]: State agency that published the 2026 report to the Legislature containing data on sentence adjustments. - Mississippi Earned Parole Eligibility Act [legislation]: Mississippi law expanding parole eligibility, signed by Governor Tate Reeves on April 22, 2021. (aka: Senate Bill 2795, SB 2795) - Mississippi Legislature [organization]: The legislative branch of the state of Mississippi, which passed SB 2795 (2021) and H.B. 585 (2014). (aka: Mississippi State Senate, Mississippi House of Representatives) - Mississippi Parole Board [organization]: Mississippi parole authority with absolute discretion under Miss. Code Ann. § 47-7-5. - Montana Board of Pardons and Parole [organization]: Montana parole authority governed by section 46-23-201 MCA. (aka: Montana Board) - Moore v. Ray [case]: 1998 Supreme Court of Georgia decision upholding the recidivist parole-ineligibility statute and addressing Attorney General opinions. - Nathan Deal [person]: Former Georgia Governor (2011-2019) whose justice reinvestment reforms (2012-2015) resulted in a 6% prison population decrease, $264M in averted costs, and $57M reinvested. (aka: Governor Deal) - Nebraska Board of Parole [organization]: Nebraska agency that makes parole release decisions under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 83-1,114. (aka: Board of Parole) - New Jersey [organization]: U.S. state that reduced prison population by 26% (1999-2012) and holds 37% fewer people than in 2019. - New Jersey Parole Board v. Byrne [case]: 1983 New Jersey Supreme Court decision holding that N.J.S.A. 30:4-123.53(a) creates a protected expectation of parole. (aka: Byrne, NJ Parole Bd. v. Byrne) - New Jersey State Parole Board [organization]: New Jersey parole authority, party in Byrne and Trantino. (aka: Parole Board) - New York Assembly Bill A00514 [legislation]: Pending New York Assembly bill sponsored by Davila establishing elder parole interviews for persons 55 or older who have served at least 15 years. (aka: A00514) - New York Board of Parole [organization]: New York state agency subject to statutory requirements under N.Y. Executive Law §§ 259-c and 259-i. (aka: Board of Parole) - New York State Assembly [organization]: Lower house of the New York State Legislature. (aka: NY Assembly) - New York State Board of Parole [organization]: New York parole authority referenced in S2423. (aka: Board of Parole) - New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision [organization]: Oversees New York's prison system, which more than halved its population while violent crime fell. - New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services [organization]: New York state agency that published drug law reform impact reports. (aka: DCJS) - New York State Executive Law [legislation]: New York statute governing medical parole eligibility. (aka: Executive Law §§ 259-r, 259-s) - New York State Senate [organization]: Upper house of the New York State Legislature. (aka: NYS Senate) - New York State Senate Bill S2144 [legislation]: New York bill (sponsor Hoylman) to permit parole review for inmates over 55 who served at least 15 years; never passed either chamber. (aka: S2144, Elder Parole bill) - NYU Law Center on Race, Inequality, and the Law [organization]: Research center that published a June 2023 report on racial disparities in New York parole decisions. - O.C.G.A. § 16-13-31 [legislation]: Georgia drug-trafficking statute with mandatory minimums and departure mechanisms added by HB 1176 (2012) and HB 349 (2013), including judicial departure criteria and substantial-assistance motions. (aka: Georgia drug trafficking statute) - O.C.G.A. § 17-10-6.1 [legislation]: Statute listing seven serious violent felonies with mandatory minimum sentences during which parole is unavailable. (aka: OCGA § 17-10-6.1) - O.C.G.A. § 42-9-40 [legislation]: Georgia statute requiring adoption of the parole guideline system; qualified in Sultenfuss by § 42-9-42(c). (aka: Section 42-9-40, O.C.G.A.) - O.C.G.A. § 42-9-42 [legislation]: Georgia statute providing that no inmate shall be placed on parole unless the Board finds a reasonable probability of law-abiding conduct and compatibility with welfare; read in Sultenfuss as a presumption against parole. (aka: Section 42-9-42, O.C.G.A., O.C.G.A. Sec. 42-9-42(c)) - Office of the Public Defender [organization]: Maryland's public defender office; projected costs and reported on Juvenile Restoration Act motions. (aka: OPD) - Oklahoma [organization]: Authorizes split sentence with up to 120 days confinement; court may reduce sentence within 120 days. - Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals [organization]: Oklahoma appellate court that decided Ex Parte Tucker (1942). - Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board [organization]: Oklahoma state board that recommends commutations and paroles. - Oregon [organization]: U.S. state; ORS 137.218 allows joint prosecutor-defense petitions for reconsideration of conviction or sentence. - ORS 137.218 [legislation]: Oregon statute permitting a person sentenced for a felony other than aggravated murder, jointly with the district attorney, to petition for reconsideration of conviction or sentence. (aka: Oregon Revised Statutes 137.218) - Padilla v. Utah Board of Pardons and Parole [case]: 1997 Utah Supreme Court decision holding sentencing and parole powers are separate and distinct. - Parole Decision Guidelines System [program]: Board system for structuring parole decisions; Board regulations and NOTICE state it does not create a liberty interest. (aka: Guidelines, Parole Guidelines) - Parole Preparation Project [organization]: Advocacy nonprofit assisting incarcerated people serving long sentences. - Phil Bryant [person]: Governor of Mississippi who signed H.B. 585 into law on March 31, 2014. - Plata/Coleman v. Newsom [case]: Class action lawsuits that led to a three-judge panel order requiring CDCR to implement an elderly parole process. (aka: Plata/Coleman) - Proposition 36 [legislation]: California ballot initiative enacted November 2012 that allowed resentencing and release of some non-violent Three Strikes inmates. (aka: Three Strikes Reform Act) - Prosecutor-Initiated Resentencing [program]: Policy allowing prosecutors to initiate resentencing; authorized in Utah by administrative rule, making Utah the sixth state and first Republican-led state to adopt it. (aka: PIR) - RAND Corporation [organization]: Research organization that conducted the correctional education meta-analysis (2013) and evaluated Oregon's Measure 11. (aka: RAND) - Release Aging People in Prison (RAPP) [organization]: Grassroots advocacy organization created and led by formerly incarcerated people, family members, and advocates, working to release aging people in prison. (aka: RAPP, RAPP Campaign) - Rockefeller Drug Law Reform [legislation]: 2009 New York law that eliminated mandatory prison sentences for some drug offenses and created resentencing procedures. (aka: L 2009, ch 56, Rockefeller Drug Law Reform Act) - Sandin v. Conner [case]: U.S. Supreme Court decision refined by Wilkinson v. Austin; absent from GPS research library entirely. - SB 440 [legislation]: Georgia bill attempting to provide that certain juvenile offenders who commit certain violent felonies be tried as adults in superior court; the seven-deadly-sins juvenile law passed in April 1994. (aka: State Bill 440, Georgia State Bill 440) - SB0200 [legislation]: Utah 2024 prosecutor-initiated resentencing legislation; Chief Sponsor Michael K. McKell, House Sponsor Karianne Lisonbee. (aka: Utah SB0200) - Second Chance Act [legislation]: Federal legislation funding reentry programs for formerly incarcerated individuals. - Second Look Act [legislation]: Federal bill introduced in the 119th Congress to allow courts to revisit long sentences, referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (aka: H.R. 8549, BILLS-119hr8549ih) - Second Look Amendment Act (SLAA) [legislation]: D.C. amendment expanding IRAA resentencing eligibility to at least 600 people. (aka: SLAA) - Second Look Project [program]: D.C. project directed by lawyer James Zeigler, focused on second-look resentencing. - Sentence Reform Act of 1994 [legislation]: Georgia legislation enacted in 1994, the year GDC's year-end population chart records 33,175 inmates. - Southern Center for Human Rights [organization]: Legal advocacy organization that investigated food conditions at Gordon County Jail and sent a formal letter to Sheriff Mitch Ralston in October 2014. (aka: SCHR) - Special Council on Criminal Justice Reform for Georgians [organization]: Bipartisan group formed by H.B. 265 in April 2011 with representation from all three branches of government to analyze Georgia's criminal justice system and make reform recommendations. (aka: SCCJRG, Special Council) - Stanford Criminal Justice Center [organization]: Academic research center that conducted extensive research on AB 109 Realignment - Stanford Three Strikes Project [organization]: Stanford Law School project that represents prisoners sentenced under California's Three Strikes law and advocates for reform. - Stanley Bellamy [person]: Clemency recipient; served 37+ years of a 62.5-to-life sentence. - State Board of Pardons and Paroles [organization]: Georgia state entity that serves as a reporting entity for sexual abuse allegations in prisons - Sultenfuss v. Snow [case]: 35 F.3d 1494 (11th Cir. 1994) (en banc). Held Georgia parole system creates no liberty interest protected by due process. - Swart v. State [case]: Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals case holding the discretionary power to discharge an offender rests exclusively with the Governor under Okla. Const. art. VI, § 10. - Swarthout v. Cooke [case]: U.S. Supreme Court case referenced for its quotation of an earlier edition of California Penal Code § 3041. - Sydney Kamlager-Dove [person]: U.S. Representative (D-CA-37) who sponsored the Second Look Act of 2026. (aka: Rep. Kamlager-Dove, Ms. Kamlager-Dove) - Tate Reeves [person]: Governor of Mississippi who signed SB 2795 into law on April 22, 2021. - Texas [organization]: State where incarcerated people are not paid for most prison work. - Texas Court of Criminal Appeals [organization]: Highest criminal appellate court of Texas; decided Ex Parte Giles (1973). - The Sentencing Project [organization]: Research and advocacy organization that published 'Diminishing Returns: Crime and Incarceration in the 1990s' (Gainsborough and Mauer 2000). (aka: Sentencing Project) - U.S. Attorney's Office for D.C. [organization]: Federal prosecutors who reported 95 decided SLAA resentencing motions, 84 granted, and opposed release timing in all but 12. (aka: U.S. Attorney's Office for DC) - U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia [organization]: Federal prosecutor's office that issued a press release opposing the Second Look Act of 2019. (aka: US Attorney's Office for DC) - U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia [case]: Federal court that held retroactive application of Georgia's 90% parole policy unconstitutional. (aka: N.D. Ga.) - U.S. Sentencing Commission [organization]: Federal agency that produced the 2017 study on effects of aging on recidivism among 25,431 federal offenders. (aka: USSC) - UC Berkeley Law Criminal Law and Justice Center [organization]: Research center at UC Berkeley School of Law focused on criminal justice reform. - Unger case [case]: 2012 Maryland case remedying improper jury instructions, applying to people sentenced to life before 1981; 188 released. (aka: Unger ruling) - Unger group [case]: Group of 188 people released in Maryland under the Unger litigation, with a recidivism rate of less than 1 percent. - Unger v. State [case]: A Maryland Court of Appeals case that led to the release of individuals convicted under advisory-only jury instructions. - Utah [organization]: U.S. state; sixth state and first Republican-led state to authorize Prosecutor-Initiated Resentencing. - Utah Board of Pardons and Parole [organization]: Utah board that enacted Prosecutor-Initiated Resentencing as an administrative rule and administers compassionate release. (aka: Utah Board of Pardons & Parole) - Vera Institute of Justice [organization]: Research organization focused on criminal justice; published Health Care Behind Bars report (2025) (aka: Vera Institute, Vera) - Virginia [organization]: U.S. state; enacted geriatric parole in 1994 as part of abolishing discretionary parole; 820 eligible as of July 31, 2022. - Virginia Commission on Parole Abolition and Sentencing Reform [organization]: Commission created by Governor Allen in 1994 to recommend parole abolition and sentencing reform. - Virginia Department of Corrections [organization]: Virginia state agency responsible for the state prison system, subject to oversight by the Virginia Office of the Department of Corrections Ombudsman. (aka: VADOC) - Virginia General Assembly [organization]: The state legislature of Virginia. - Virginia Parole Board [organization]: Virginia parole authority that makes geriatric conditional release decisions. - Virginia State Crime Commission [organization]: Virginia state agency that published a report on parole including geriatric parole data. (aka: VSCC) - Washington State Legislature [organization]: Enacted RCW 36.24.190 permitting counties to convert coroner to ME by voter ordinance. SOURCES (195) ---------------------------------------- - 'The will of the people': Stitt to sign record 527 commutations, NonDoc (2019-11-01) [journalism, secondary] URL: https://nondoc.com/2019/11/01/oklahoma-to-set-commutation-record/ - § 24–403.03. Modification of an imposed term of imprisonment for violations of law committed before 25 years of age. | D.C. Law Library, D.C. Council [legislation, primary] URL: https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/24-403.03 - § 305.6. Modification of Long-Term Prison Sentences; Principles for Legislation., American Law Institute (2017-01-01) [legal_document, primary] URL: https://www.thealiadviser.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Modification-of-Long-Term-Prison-Sentences.pdf - § 53.1-40.01. Conditional release of geriatric prisoners, Virginia Law [legislation, primary] URL: https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title53.1/chapter2/section53.1-40.01/ - 1​ Minnesota Statutes 2025​ 609.133​, Minnesota Revisor of Statutes (2025-01-01) [legislation, primary] URL: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.133/pdf - 102nd Illinois General Assembly - Wikipedia, Wikipedia [academic, tertiary] URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/102nd_Illinois_General_Assembly - 2012 Inmate Releases, New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (2012-01-01) [official_report, primary] URL: https://doccs.ny.gov/recidivism-research-2012 - 2012–2016 Mississippi Legislature - Wikipedia, Wikipedia [academic, tertiary] URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012%E2%80%932016_Mississippi_Legislature - 2017 Regular Session ENROLLED, Louisiana State Legislature (2017-01-01) [legislation, primary] URL: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1051859 - 2018 Releases from Custody, New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (2023-01-01) [official_report, primary] URL: https://doccs.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2023/01/final-2018-releases_three-year-post-release-follow-up.pdf - 2018 sentencing legislation fact sheet - Digital Library of Georgia, Digital Library of Georgia (2018-01-01) [official_report, primary] URL: https://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/id:dlg_ggpd_s-ga-br300-b-pm1-b2018-bs46-belec-p-btext - 2020 Washington legislative session - Ballotpedia, Ballotpedia (2020-01-01) [data_portal, tertiary] URL: https://ballotpedia.org/2020_Washington_legislative_session - 2020–2024 Mississippi Legislature - Wikipedia, Wikipedia [academic, tertiary] URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020%E2%80%932024_Mississippi_Legislature - 2025 Maryland legislative session - Ballotpedia, Ballotpedia (2025-01-01) [data_portal, tertiary] URL: https://ballotpedia.org/2025_Maryland_legislative_session - 46-23-201. Prisoners eligible for nonmedical parole, MCA, Montana Code Annotated [legislation, primary] URL: https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0460/chapter_0230/part_0020/section_0010/0460-0230-0020-0010.html - 725 ILCS 5/122-9, Illinois General Assembly [legislation, primary] URL: https://web.archive.org/web/20250430131550id_/https://ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/documents/072500050K122-9.htm - 81st Oregon Legislative Assembly - Wikipedia, Wikipedia [academic, tertiary] URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/81st_Oregon_Legislative_Assembly - 93rd Minnesota Legislature - Wikipedia, Wikipedia [academic, tertiary] URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/93rd_Minnesota_Legislature - 95-4 | Office of the Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General of Georgia (1995-01-01) [legal_document, primary] URL: https://law.georgia.gov/opinions/95-4 - 96-20 | Office of the Attorney General, Georgia Office of the Attorney General (1996-01-01) [legal_document, primary] URL: https://law.georgia.gov/opinions/96-20-0 - A brief from May 2014, Pew Charitable Trusts (2014-01-01) [official_report, secondary] URL: https://www.pew.org/~/media/assets/2014/09/pspp_mississippi_2014_corrections_justice_reform.pdf - About Us (rappcampaign.com), Release Aging People in Prison (RAPP) [data_portal, primary] URL: https://rappcampaign.com/about/ - Act No. 339, 2018 PA 0339 [2], Michigan Legislature (2018-01-01) [legislation, primary] URL: https://web.archive.org/web/20251223190016id_/https://capitol.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2017-2018/publicact/pdf/2018-PA-0339.pdf - Alabama Code § 14-14-3 (2025) - Eligibility for Furlough, Justia (2025-01-01) [legislation, primary] URL: https://law.justia.com/codes/alabama/title-14/chapter-14/section-14-14-3/ - Art IV :: Georgia Constitution :: Georgia Law :: U.S. Law :: Justia, Justia [legal_document, primary] URL: https://law.justia.com/constitution/georgia/conart4.html - Bill Search and Legislative Information | New York State Assembly, leg [1], New York State Assembly [legislation, primary] URL: https://nyassembly.gov/leg/?Actions=Y&Memo=Y&Summary=Y&Text=Y&Votes=Y&bn=A00514&term= - Bill Search and Legislative Information | New York State Assembly, leg [2], New York State Assembly (2026-01-01) [legislation, primary] URL: https://nyassembly.gov/leg/?Actions=Y&Memo=Y&Summary=Y&Text=Y&Votes=Y&bn=A00127&term= - Bill Search and Legislative Information | New York State Assembly, leg [3], New York State Assembly [legislation, primary] URL: https://nyassembly.gov/leg/?default_fld=&leg_video=&bn=A01283&term=&Summary=Y&Actions=Y&Memo=Y&Text=Y - Bill Search and Legislative Information | New York State Assembly, leg [4], New York State Assembly [legislation, primary] URL: https://nyassembly.gov/leg/?bn=A03475&term=2021&Summary=Y&Actions=Y&Memo=Y&Text=Y - Bill Search and Legislative Information | New York State Assembly, leg [5], New York State Assembly [legislation, primary] URL: https://nyassembly.gov/leg/?bn=A02035&term=2023&Summary=Y&Actions=Y&Memo=Y&Text=Y - Bill Search and Legislative Information | New York State Assembly, leg [6], New York State Assembly [legislation, primary] URL: https://nyassembly.gov/leg/?bn=S09846&term=2025&Summary=Y&Actions=Y - Bill Search and Legislative Information | New York State Assembly, leg [7], New York State Assembly [legislation, primary] URL: https://nyassembly.gov/leg/?bn=A00127&term=2025&Summary=Y&Actions=Y&Memo=Y - Bill Search and Legislative Information | New York State Assembly, leg [8], New York State Assembly [legislation, primary] URL: https://nyassembly.gov/leg/?bn=A00514&term=2025&Summary=Y&Actions=Y&Memo=Y - Bill Status - AB-2942 Criminal procedure: recall of sentencing., California Legislative Information (2018-01-01) [legislation, primary] URL: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB2942 - Bill Text - AB-2942 Criminal procedure: recall of sentencing., California Legislative Information [legislation, primary] URL: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB2942 - Bill Text - AB-600 Criminal procedure: resentencing., California Legislative Information [legislation, primary] URL: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB600 - billstatus.ls.state.ms.us: SB2795.xml, Mississippi Legislature (2021-01-01) [legislation, primary] URL: https://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/2021/pdf/history/SB/SB2795.xml - BJS Recidivism of Prisoners Released in 34 States in 2012, Bureau of Justice Statistics (2012-01-01) [official_report, primary] URL: https://bjs.ojp.gov/sites/g/files/xyckuh236/files/media/document/rpr34s125yfup1217.pdf - BOARD OF PARDONS and Henry Burgess, Petitioners v. George ALLEN and Dale Jacobsen etc. | Supreme Court | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School (1987-01-01) [legal_document, primary] URL: https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/482/369 - Board of Parole Hearings, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (2025-01-01) [official_report, primary] URL: https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/bph/wp-content/uploads/sites/161/2025/05/Report-of-Significant-Events-2024-rev.5.25.pdf - Board of Parole Hearings, Significant Events as of 5.1.26, California Board of Parole Hearings (2026-01-01) [official_report, primary] URL: https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/bph/wp-content/uploads/sites/161/2026/05/Significant-Events-as-of-5.1.26.pdf - Board of Parole, 2021 parole board leg report final, New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (2021-01-01) [official_report, primary] URL: https://doccs.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2023/07/2021-parole-board-leg-report-final.pdf - Board of Parole, 2022 parole board legislative report, New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (2022-01-01) [official_report, primary] URL: https://doccs.ny.gov/2022-parole-board-legislative-report - bopp.mt.gov: History, Montana Board of Pardons and Parole [official_report, primary] URL: https://bopp.mt.gov/History - Brian J. 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