NACDL - National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

Related Webinars

• The Case for Second Look Sentencing
   

  While many individuals are behind bars for only a short time, the backbone of mass incarceration is people serving very lengthy sentences – often decades-long, and far longer than they would serve for comparable crimes elsewhere in the world. Society’s emerging recognition that it has over-used imprisonment is exemplified in a wide range of reforms aimed at reducing the potential for individuals to enter the criminal legal system. However, to tackle the problem of mass incarceration at its core, reforms must also target those currently experiencing incarceration. Panelists discuss “Second Look,” as well as NACDL’s model “Second Look Sentencing” legislation and accompanying report.

  • Nicole D. Porter, Director of Advocacy, The Sentencing Project
  • James Dold, CEO & Founder, Human Rights for Kids
  • David L. Garlock, Pennsylvania State Organizer, Straight Ahead
  • Moderated by: JaneAnne Murray, Co-Chair, NACDL’s Second Look Task Force
     

  See Related Materials

• Second Look = Second Chance: The Case for Reconsidering Lengthy & Other Extreme Sentences
  While many individuals are behind bars for only a short time, the backbone of mass incarceration is people serving very lengthy sentences – often decades-long, and far longer than they would serve for comparable crimes elsewhere in the world. Society’s emerging recognition that it has over-used imprisonment is exemplified in a wide range of changes at the front end: reducing the potential for individuals to enter the criminal justice system. However, to tackle the problem of mass incarceration at its core, reforms must also target those currently experiencing incarceration.

  This webinar brings together practitioners and advocates for a discussion on “Second Look Sentencing,” an emerging legislative trend that seeks to provide individuals with the opportunity for resentencing or a sentence reduction after they have served a certain amount of time in prison. Panelists discuss “Second Look” legislative efforts to enact reforms nationwide, and NACDL’s model “Second Look Sentencing” legislation and accompanying report. Watch the webinar recording to gain a better understanding of how adopting a “Second Look” model can safely reduce the number of individuals serving excessive, counterproductive sentences and turn the tide of mass incarceration.

  Webinar Resources

  • No End In Sight: America's Enduring Reliance on Life Imprisonment, The Sentencing Project, February 2021.

  • Second Look Sentencing: A (Running) Reading List for Legislators, Staff, Advocates, and Everyone Else, Greg Newburn, Dec. 11, 2020.

  • Second Look = Second Chance: The NACDL Model "Second Look" Legislation and Accompanying Report, NACDL, Released Dec. 2020.

  • How to End a Sentence by Mitch Ryals, Washington City Paper, Oct. 10, 2019. 

  • The IRAA and the SLAA: Moving Beyond Nonviolent Drug Offenders to Address Mass Incarceration by Jonathan Blanks, Cato Institute, Sept. 13, 2019. 

  • James Zeigler: DC Council's 'second look' sentencing efforts are thoughtful, safe and just responses to the crisis of mass incarceration, The DC Line, Aug. 13, 2019. 

  • Ameliorating the Federal Trial Penalty through a Systematic Judicial “Second Look” Procedure by JaneAnne Murray, University of Minnesota Law School, April/June, 2019

  • As a teen he killed a man. A new law has given him a second chance by Keith L. Alexander, The Washington Post, Sept. 6, 2018. 

  • Finality and Rehabilitation by Meghan J. Ryan, Wake Forest Journal of Law & Policy, April 2014

  • Re-Balancing Fitness, Fairness, and Finality for Sentences by Douglas A. Berman, Ohio State Moritz College of Law, May 2014

  • Changing the Sentence without Hiding the Truth: Judicial Sentence Modification as a Promising Method of Early Release by Cecelia Klingele, William & Mary Law Review, Nov. 2010

  • Second Look Sentencing, NACDL.
     

  Additional Resources on Second Look