By Yana Singhal
PROVIDENCE, RI – The Sentencing Project joined with the Juvenile Law Center, the Gault Center, the National Association for Criminal Defense Lawyers and Prison Policy Initiative in an amicus brief in “support of parole review at 20 years,” and the State Supreme Court of Rhode Island agreed this month with those arguments.
Mario Monteiro, after an ACLU filing, gained a “significant victory” per the Supreme Court and won “the right to a meaningful opportunity for parole,” according to The Sentencing Project.
Passed in 2021, Monteiro’s lawyers explained, “The Youthful Offender Act,” known as Mario’s Law, states “any person sentenced for any offense prior to his or her 22nd birthday” is “eligible for parole review after serving 20 years, except for those serving life without parole.”
The state “contended that the statute does not apply to multiple, consecutive prison terms” but The Sentencing Project states “under this reasoning, Monteiro would serve at least another 15 years before parole review, despite the fact that he has been imprisoned since age 17 and had already served 20 years.”
“The ACLU of Rhode Island argued this would defeat that statute’s purpose and the Supreme Court agreed, sending Monteiro back to the parole board to be considered for release,” noted The Sentencing Project.
Monteiro “exemplifies the characteristics of rehabilitation, responsibility, and redemption” and “he and others like him deserve a thoughtful and thorough review by the parole board to be considered for release,” argued The Sentencing Project.
“Without this ruling in Mario’s favor, that opportunity would have evaporated. The Sentencing Project applauds the decision of the Supreme Court, and thanks the ACLU of Rhode Island for its persistence in the pursuit of justice,” according to The Sentencing Project.
The Sentencing Project said it will “continue to push for second look legislation in order to offer meaningful opportunities for release to people in prison.”
