Second Look Sentencing: A (Running) Reading List for Legislators, Staff, Advocates, and Everyone Else
The idea of “Second Look” sentencing — that the law should allow some mechanism by which institutional actors can legally revisit sentences to ensure they remain appropriate (or to adjust those that never were) — has been around for some time. Now, it is gaining traction. For example, the Model Penal Code now contains a second look provision; last year, a second look bill was filed in the Florida Legislature, and passed several committees (the bill was recently re-filed for the 2021 session); a second look bill looks poised to pass in Washington, D.C. any day now; the new District Attorney for Los Angeles County, George Gascón, announced his office will create a “resentencing unit” tasked with conducting second look-style reviews in thousands of cases; earlier this year, Broward County, Florida State Attorney Michael Satz announced what he called an “equitable review” process that led to the early release of drug offenders serving sentences no longer found in law; and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers just released model second look legislation, a fantastic aid for legislators interested in adopting second look laws in their states.

Given the momentum second-look sentencing seems to have at the moment — and the fact that adopting such laws is a moral necessity given the way current sentencing structures deny thousands of our fellow human beings their liberty unnecessarily — I thought it might be useful to put together a list of materials — law review articles, opinion pieces, blog posts, panels, etc. — that legislators, staff, advocates, and laypeople could use for a better understanding of some of the theoretical and moral issues surrounding second look sentencing, how it would work in practice, why it would protect and even improve public safety outcomes, and so on.

(NOTE: As the title of this post suggests, this is intended as a running list. As of 12/10/2020, the list includes only items I could recall off the top of my head. Also, with the exception of putting FAMM’s stuff right at the top — where it belongs — the only order below is when I thought of it. If you think something should be added, email me at gnewburn@famm.org!)
['Greg Newburn']
['Sentencing', 'Criminal Justice Reform', 'Criminal Justice', 'Sentencing Reform', 'Second Chances']