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The Sentencing Project 

News related to legislation regarding criminal sentencing, disenfranchisement and other inmate-rights issues.
Post Frequency: 1.1/day Last Entry: July 14, 2009 at 17:20:01 Recent Entries: 209
By The Sentencing Project
Go to The Sentencing Project, find other Criminal Law blogs, or browse all law blogs.
Read News: Iowa House Approves Examination of Racial/Ethnic Impact of Sentencing Changes
Posted on March 26, 2008By a 99-0 vote, Iowa’s House passed legislation that requires lawmakers to review, prior to approval, the effect new sentencing policies may have on minority communities. The Des Moines Register credits a report by The Sentencing Project, which found Iowa incarcerates blacks at a rate 13 times that of whites, for helping instigate the legislative response...
Read News: 2008 Presidential Candidates? Platforms on Criminal Justice
Posted on March 24, 2008The Sentencing Project is pleased to publish a guide to the 2008 Presidential Candidates’ Platforms on Criminal Justice. This guide provides information on a range of key criminal justice issues, including sentencing policy, reentry, death penalty, and felony disenfranchisement...
Read News: Disenfranchisement News
Posted on March 20, 2008Mississippi: Elections Chair Works for Restoration, but with Caveats National: Disenfranchisement on National Public Radio National: Legal Challenges and Overview Posted Date:3/20/2008 4:04:58 PM
Read News: Disenfranchisement News
Posted on March 14, 2008Florida: Advocate “Does Right Thing,” Makes Dent in DisenfranchisementKentucky: Editorial Sides with Governor, Rights of Formerly Incarcerated Individuals Posted Date:3/14/2008 7:18:28 PM
Read Advocacy Material: Senate Passes Second Chance Bill
Posted on March 12, 2008The Senate passed the Second Chance Act of 2007 late Tuesday, which will ease the re-entry process for individuals leaving prison by providing funding for prisoner mentoring programs, job training and rehabilitative treatment. The legislation, introduced in the Senate by Sens...
Read News: Senate Passes Second Chance Legislation
Posted on March 12, 2008The Senate passed the Second Chance Act of 2007 late Tuesday, which will ease the re-entry process for individuals leaving prison by providing funding for prisoner mentoring programs, job training and rehabilitative treatment. The legislation, introduced in the Senate by Sens...
Read News: Disenfranchisement News
Posted on March 07, 2008Mississippi: Secretary of State Moves to Disenfranchise More Voters Kentucky: Governor Removes Some Disenfranchisement Barriers International: U.N. Body Recommends U.S. Restore Voting Rights National: Rate of Disenfranchisement Higher for African-American Women National: ACLU Aims to Help with ‘Toolkit’ National: U...
Read Publication: Felony Disenfranchisement Rates for Women
Posted on March 06, 2008Briefing sheet providing estimates of national rates of disenfranchisement for women. 3 pages Posted Date:3/6/2008 5:11:44 PM
Read Advocacy Material: Video: People Impacted by Unfair Sentencing Speak Out
Posted on March 05, 2008The ACLU has compiled footage from a press conference held in February in which people impacted by the crack cocaine sentencing law spoke about the harm caused by the harsh mandatory minimums for crack cocaine, and why Congress should advance reform. Reps...
Read News: Video: People Impacted by Unfair Sentencing Speak Out
Posted on March 05, 2008The ACLU has compiled footage from a press conference held in February in which people impacted by the crack cocaine sentencing law spoke about the harm caused by the harsh mandatory minimums for crack cocaine, and why Congress should advance reform. Reps...
Read Advocacy Material: U.S. Sentencing Commission Decision Takes Effect Today
Posted on March 03, 2008Three months after the U.S. Sentencing Commission voted unanimously to apply adjustments to the sentencing guidelines for crack cocaine offenses retroactively, sentencing reductions for eligible prisoners begin today. The Commission estimates that 19,500 persons in prison are eligible to apply for a sentence reduction expected to average just over two years...
Read News: U.S. Sentencing Commission Decision Takes Effect Today
Posted on March 03, 2008Three months after the U.S. Sentencing Commission voted unanimously to apply adjustments to the sentencing guidelines for crack cocaine offenses retroactively, sentencing reductions for eligible prisoners begin today. The Commission estimates that 19,500 persons in prison are eligible to apply for a sentence reduction expected to average just over two years...
Read News: Disenfranchisement News
Posted on February 29, 2008Tennessee: ACLU Challenges State’s Disenfranchising “Poll Tax” Law Posted Date:2/29/2008 7:40:50 PM
Read Advocacy Material: Impacted People Speak Out on Crack Sentencing Law, Lobby for Reform
Posted on February 27, 2008Fifty community leaders from around the country descended on Washington on Tuesday to call for reform of crack cocaine sentencing laws before the House Judiciary's Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security and urge their representatives in Congress to push through reform legislation this year...
Read News: People Impacted by Crack Sentencing Law Speak Out, Lobby for Reform
Posted on February 27, 2008Fifty community leaders from around the country descended on Washington on Tuesday to call for reform of crack cocaine sentencing laws before the House Judiciary's Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security and urge their representatives in Congress to push through reform legislation this year...
Read Advocacy Material: House Committee to Review Unfairness in Crack Cocaine Sentencing
Posted on February 25, 2008Excessive federal penalties for low-level crack cocaine offenses will be scrutinized tomorrow during a hearing in the House of Representatives’ Judiciary Committee, the same day community leaders from around the country descend on Washington to call for sentencing reform Posted Date: 2/25/2008 9:22:41 PM
Read News: House Committee to Review Unfairness in Crack Cocaine Sentencing
Posted on February 25, 2008Excessive federal penalties for low-level crack cocaine offenses will be scrutinized tomorrow during a hearing in the House of Representatives’ Judiciary Committee, the same day community leaders from around the country descend on Washington to call for sentencing reform...
Read News: Crack Offenders Set for Release Mostly Nonviolent, Study Says
Posted on February 22, 2008Incarcerated individuals eligible for crack cocaine sentence reductions are mostly nonviolent offenders, according to an analysis conducted by the United States Sentencing Commission. The analysis has been circulated on Capitol Hill to counter Bush administration assertions that the guidelines would prompt the release of thousands of dangerous criminals, the Washington Post reported...
Read News: Reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act to Soon be Introduced
Posted on February 19, 2008The Senate Judiciary Committee and the House Education and Labor Committee are actively working to craft legislation for the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) reauthorization, and a draft should be released very soon which is based on the recommendations of lawyers, policy-makers, and youth advocates...
Read News: Disenfranchisement News
Posted on February 08, 2008Kentucky: House Committee Approves Restoration BillNational: Disenfranchisement’s Effects, RootsAlabama: Struggle Part of State’s HistoryCalifornia: Voting Behind Bars – Jail Inmates Eligible While Awaiting Trial Posted Date:2/8/2008 7:11:00 PM
Read News: Senate Schedules Crack Cocaine Hearing
Posted on February 06, 2008The Senate Committee on the Judiciary has scheduled a hearing before the Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs on “Federal Cocaine Sentencing Laws: Reforming the 100-to-1 Crack/Powder Disparity” for Tuesday, February 12, 2008 at 2:00 p.m. in Room 226 of the Senate Dirksen Office Building...
Read Publication: Senate Crack-Cocaine Legislation
Posted on February 04, 2008A comparison of the current law against three Senate bills introduced to reform sentencing policy on crack-cocaine. All of the bills raise the quantities for crack-cocaine that trigger mandatory minimum sentences, but Senator Biden's bill is the only bill that equalizes the trigger quantities to those of powder cocaine...
Read Advocacy Material: Senate Schedules Crack Cocaine Hearing
Posted on February 01, 2008The Senate Committee on the Judiciary has scheduled a hearing before the Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs on “Federal Cocaine Sentencing Laws: Reforming the 100-to-1 Crack/Powder Disparity” for Tuesday, February 12, 2008 at 2:00 p.m. in Room 226 of the Senate Dirksen Office Building...
Read Advocacy Material: The Sentencing Project Endorses Prevention and Intervention Programs for Youth
Posted on January 30, 2008In a letter to members of the U.S. House of Representatives, The Sentencing Project endorsed and urged support for H.R. 3846, the Youth Prison Reduction through Opportunities, Mentoring, Intervention, Support and Education (“Youth PROMISE”) Act...
Read Publication: Federal Crack Cocaine Sentencing
Posted on January 30, 2008An assessment of the cocaine sentencing debate that explores the racial impact of the crack sentencing disparity, clarifies misperceptions regarding crack addiction, and outlines solutions to eliminate sentencing unfairness. 8 pages Posted Date:1/9/2008 12:27:04 PM
Read Feature: Lawrence and Lamont Garrison
Posted on January 30, 2008Identical twins Lawrence and Lamont Garrison were inseparable. In elementary school, one would rush to the other’s classroom and wait until he was dismissed. Living in the same house in Washington, D.C. that their mother and grandmother had grown up in, they attended Howard University together...
Read News: Marc Mauer Addresses Iowa Policymakers About the State?s High Rate of Incarceration of African Americans
Posted on January 30, 2008Rep. Wayne Ford (D-Des Moines) invited Marc Mauer, Executive Director of The Sentencing Project, to Iowa to speak to policymakers about the state’s high black prison rate. Rep. Ford, who is executive director of the nonprofit Urban Dreams, which provides re-entry programs for ex-offenders, hopes to come up with solutions that address the “long-standing problem that has proven difficult to change,” according to the Iowa Independent...
Read News: Federal Crack Cocaine Disparity Addressed in Senate Hearing
Posted on December 31, 1969Sen. Joseph Biden chaired a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the federal crack cocaine disparity in standing-room only quarters which ultimately concluded with a consensus that Congress is “on the road to do something right,” Sen. Jeff Sessions said...
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In the agile model, the project team releases different versions of the software...
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