WASHINGTON, D.C. – A new report by The Sentencing Project finds that states across the country are moving forward with reforms that allow courts to reconsider extreme sentences, even as the Trump administration pushes to roll back criminal justice reform efforts.
According to the report, 25 states have passed sentence review measures this year alone, showing growing national momentum behind so-called “second look” policies. These reforms allow courts to revisit sentences after a person has served a “lengthy period of time,” The Sentencing Project said.
The policies stand in stark contrast to federal actions under the Trump administration, which has sought to undermine reforms, efforts that The Sentencing Project described as “deeply at odds with national trends.”
The report notes that reforms have advanced through legislation, court rulings, and administrative actions at both the state and federal levels. They build on youth sentencing protections established by the Supreme Court in Graham v. Florida (2010) and Miller v. Alabama (2012).
In Graham, the Court ruled that sentencing juveniles to life without parole was unconstitutional because states must give youth “a meaningful opportunity to obtain release based on demonstrated maturity and rehabilitation.”
In Miller, the Court held that judges must weigh “the mitigating and transient factors of youth” before imposing life without parole. For a juvenile to receive such a sentence, courts must first establish that the individual is “permanently incorrigible,” The Sentencing Project said.
Since those rulings, reforms have expanded sentence review to cover a broader range of sentences and populations. Many states now extend review to juveniles with long sentences as well as “emerging adults” ages 18 to 24 who were sentenced to life without parole.
The Sentencing Project reports that 16 state courts have found lengthy sentences, including life without parole and certain term-of-years sentences, unconstitutional under the reasoning of Graham and Miller.
The report highlights several significant reforms passed this year. In Maryland, emerging adults can now seek sentence reductions after serving 20 years, affecting about 600 people.
In Michigan, protections against life without parole have been expanded from those 18 and under to include 19- and 20-year-olds, making 800 people eligible for resentencing.
Georgia, Oklahoma and New York passed laws allowing domestic abuse survivors to petition for resentencing.
Utah joined other states in adopting Prosecutor-Initiated Resentencing, or PIR, which has already led to more than 1,000 resentencings nationwide.
Delaware expanded sentencing review to people who have served 25 years or more, as well as to those 60 and older who have served at least 15 years.
The Sentencing Project said federal political attacks on reforms ignore both the data and the realities of public safety.
“Research demonstrates that people age out of criminal activity, and after serving lengthy sentences, their likelihood of recidivism is very low,” said Sara Cohbra, the group’s network director. “We should continue to build—not destroy—a justice system that recognizes the human capacity for change and ensures that our laws reflect our values.”
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