publications
December 16, 2021
Youth in Adult Courts, Jails, and Prisons
This brief reviews the history, harms, pathways and trends that treat children as if they were adults.
publications
December 08, 2021
Successes in Criminal Legal Reforms, 2021
Formerly incarcerated activists, lawmakers, and advocates achieved important changes in criminal justice policy in 2021 to reduce mass incarceration, expand voting rights and advance racial justice. This briefing paper highlights key reforms undertaken in 2021 prioritized by The Sentencing Project.
Theresa McIntyre Smith
In 1999, Theresa Smith was arrested at an airport after she met a drug courier in Roy Mercer’s network and according to the government, identified a suitcase containing eleven kilograms of cocaine for the courier. Smith said she had been told by Mercer that the suitcase contained his nieces’ clothes. For this first-time non-violent offense, Smith was sentenced to a ten-year mandatory prison term.
publications
December 06, 2021
Amicus Brief in Support of Ending Extreme Sentences for Youth in Maryland
The Sentencing Project joined with partners at the MacArthur Justice Center, the Juvenile Law Center, and others who oppose extreme sentences for youth on an amicus brief to end those sentences in Maryland and to require a finding of permanent incorrigibility under the Maryland Declaration of Rights during sentencing.
publications
November 17, 2021
Parents in Prison
This fact sheet provides key facts on parents in prison and policies that impede their ability to care for their children when released from prison.
Christopher Poulos
When Chris Poulos was arrested, he experienced firsthand the difference that money can make in the criminal justice system. He recounts the experience in his own words.
publications
November 04, 2021
Testimony in support of Pennsylvania Sunset Parole Reform
The Pennsylvania General Assembly is considering ending lifetime parole supervision.
publications
November 03, 2021
Testimony in support of Washington, DC's Revised Criminal Code Act of 2021
Passage of the Revised Criminal Code Act of 2021 would go far in aligning D.C.’s criminal penalties with criminological evidence on how to advance public safety.
Willie Mays Aikens
In 2008, Willie Mays Aikens made headlines when a federal judge reduced his lengthy prison term to 14 years as a result of the U.S. Sentencing Commission’s adjustment to the crack cocaine sentencing guidelines. Aikens was released in June 2008.
publications
November 03, 2021
Conversation About Crime Survivors and Restorative Justice Issues
The Sentencing Project and national victim/survivor advocate Anne Seymour sponsored a virtual conversation to address the critical issue of restorative justice practices both pre- and post-conviction. The goal of the conversation was to identify strategies that can more wholly address the needs of survivors, those who harm them, and the communities in which they reside.
publications
October 29, 2021
Amicus Brief in Support of Ending Felony Murder LWOP Sentences in Pennsylvania
In Pennsylvania, some 1,100 people are serving life-without-parole (LWOP) sentences despite never having intended to take a life. Pennsylvania is one of just six states that mandate LWOP for all individuals convicted of felony murder.
Kemba Smith
At 24 years old, Kemba Smith was sentenced to 24.5 years in prison for conspiracy to participate in her boyfriend's drug activities, a non-violent, first-time offense. For years, her parents galvanized a tireless movement seeking clemency for their daughter.
publications
October 13, 2021
The Color of Justice: Racial and Ethnic Disparity in State Prisons
Black Americans are incarcerated in state prisons across the country at nearly five times the rate of whites, and Latinx people are 1.3 times as likely to be incarcerated than non-Latinx whites. This report documents the rates of incarceration for white, Black and Latinx Americans in each state, identifies three contributors to racial and ethnic disparities in imprisonment, and provides recommendations for reform.
publications
October 07, 2021
Testimony Before DC Council's Committee on the Judiciary in Support of the Redefinition of Child Amendment Act of 2021
The Sentencing Project's Senior Advocacy Associate Josh Rovner submitted testimony endorsing Bill 24-338, the Redefinition of Child Amendment Act of 2021, before the Council of the District of Columbia, Committee on the Judiciary. The hearing considers whether all of DC’s children should be seen as such. The bill would apply to 16-and 17-year-olds who have been charged with any one of a set of serious offenses.
Andres Idarraga
After his release in June of 2004, Andres Idarraga became a full-time student at Brown University studying comparative literature and economics while maintaining full-time employment. Idarraga saw his right to vote as a significant and crucial aspect to rebuilding his life and to contributing to his community.
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