publications
February 14, 2022
Letter to Justice Department on Appointment of Bureau of Prisons Director
In a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, The Sentencing Project urges the Department of Justice to hire a new Bureau of Prisons Director who is capable of and committed to leading the Bureau through systemic reform.
publications
January 26, 2022
Testimony in Support of Maryland Bill to End Automatic Transfer of Youth to Adult Court
The Sentencing Project offered expert testimony in support of Maryland's SB165, a bill to end the automatic charging of Maryland’s youth as if they were adults.
Denver Schimming
As a previously incarcerated person who had his voting rights restored in 1996, Denver Schimming knew the power and importance of voting. His years in prison taught him that the criminal justice system could change only if impacted people spoke out. After his incarceration, voting was one of his highest priorities.
publications
January 25, 2022
Testimony in Support of Nebraska's Racial Impact Statement Legislation
The Sentencing Project offered expert testimony in support of Nebraska's Legislative Bill 814, a Racial Impact Statement Act.
publications
January 13, 2022
State Voting Rights Briefs
The Sentencing Project is committed to expanding voting rights in every state and works with state partners to provide specific data on state felony disenfranchisement.
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.
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.
James Inge
James D. Inge is one of 300 individuals age 60 or older arrested between 1965 and 1980 that was sentenced to life imprisonment in Pennsylvania. Learn more about his campaign to give rehabilitated seniors serving life a second chance.
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.
Lawrence and Lamont Garrison
Sentences for federal drug crimes are based on the quantity of the drugs involved, not the individual’s role in the crime. The emphasis on quantity rather than the role of the offender, along with the conspiracy laws, too often result in disproportionate sentencing, even for first-time offenses such as the Garrisons’.
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.
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.
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