Giving People a Second Chance.
Building Safer, Stronger Communities.
Over the last decade, momentum has been building for sentence review reforms, which allow courts to reconsider lengthy sentences, giving people the opportunity to return home.
Across the country, there’s growing recognition that extreme prison sentences don’t make us safer. Over the last decade, momentum has been building for sentence review reforms, which allow courts to reconsider lengthy sentences, giving people the opportunity to return home, reunite with their families, and contribute to their communities.
Today, 25 states, the District of Columbia, and the federal government have enacted reforms that open the door for sentence review through legislation, administrative rules, and court decisions.
Why second chances matters
For decades, the U.S. has relied on excessive prison sentences that separate families, drain community resources, and fail to deliver public safety. Second Look reforms recognize what research has long shown:
- People change.
- Rehabilitation is possible.
- Families and communities are stronger when reunited.
- By allowing judges to revisit long-standing sentences, these policies bring our justice system closer to our shared values of fairness, dignity, and second chances.
Explore sentencing review report
The Sentencing Project’s report, The Second Look Movement: An Assessment of the Nation’s Sentence Review Laws, highlights the rapid expansion of these reforms and their life-changing impact.
Key findings from new sentencing review report include:
- Michigan expanded eligibility for resentencing, extending relief to 19- and 20-year-olds, bringing potential relief to 800+ individuals.
- Maryland now allows many emerging adults (ages 18–24) to seek sentence reductions after 20 years—impacting approximately 600 people.
- Georgia, Oklahoma, and New York now allow survivors of domestic violence to petition for sentence review.
- Utah has joined a growing list of states adopting Prosecutor-Initiated Resentencing (PIR), which has already facilitated 1,000+ sentencing reviews nationwide.
- Delaware broadened eligibility for individuals who’ve served at least 25 years and expanded compassionate release for older adults.
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.
