I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2858 
To authorize the court to depart from a statutory minimum in the case 
of a juvenile offender, youthful victim offender, and certain other minors, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 26, 2021 
Mr. WESTERMAN (for himself, Ms. BASS, Mr. CA´RDENAS, and Mr. TRONE) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the 
Judiciary 
A BILL 
To authorize the court to depart from a statutory minimum 
in the case of a juvenile offender, youthful victim of-
fender, and certain other minors, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Sara’s Law and the 
Preventing Unfair Sentencing Act of 2021’’. 
SECTION 2. SENTENCING YOUTHFUL VICTIM OFFENDERS 
WHO HAVE BEEN TRAFFICKED, ABUSED, OR 
ASSAULTED. 
(a) SENTENCING YOUTHFUL VICTIM OFFENDERS.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 3553 of chapter 227 
of title 18, United States Code, is amended by add-
ing at the end the following: 
‘‘(h) SENTENCING
YOUTHFUL
VICTIM
OFFEND-
ERS.— 
‘‘(1) STATUTORY MINIMUMS.—In the case of a 
youthful victim offender, the court shall have the au-
thority to impose a sentence that is below a level es-
tablished by statute as a minimum sentence so as to 
consider the effect of trauma on the offender’s con-
duct. 
‘‘(2) SUSPENSION OF SENTENCE.—In the case 
of a youthful offender, the court shall have the au-
thority to suspend any portion of an imposed sen-
tence. 
‘‘(3) 
YOUTHFUL
VICTIM
OFFENDER
DE-
FINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘youthful vic-
tim offender’ means an individual who— 
‘‘(A) has not attained the age of 18; and 
‘‘(B) has been convicted of a violent of-
fense against a person who the court finds, by 
clear and convincing evidence, engaged in con-
duct against such individual, not earlier than 1 
year before such violent offense, that is an of-
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fense under section 1591 or an offense under 
chapter 71, 109A, 110, or 117.’’. 
(2) APPLICATION.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply only to a conviction entered 
on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
(b) DIRECTIVE TO SENTENCING COMMISSION.—Pur-
suant to its authority under section 994(p) of title 28, 
United States Code, and in accordance with this section, 
the United States Sentencing Commission shall review and 
amend, if appropriate, its guidelines and its policy state-
ments with respect to youthful victim offenders to ensure 
that the guidelines and policy statements are consistent 
with the amendments made by subsection (a). 
SECTION 3. SENTENCING JUVENILE OFFENDERS. 
(a) SENTENCING JUVENILE OFFENDERS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 3553 of chapter 227 
of title 18, United States Code, is amended— 
(A) in subsection (a)— 
(i) in paragraph (6), by striking 
‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(ii) in paragraph (7), by striking the 
period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; 
and 
(iii) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
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‘‘(8) in the case of a juvenile (as such term is 
defined in section 5031), the diminished culpability 
of juveniles compared to that of adults.’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(h) LIMITATION ON STATUTORY MINIMUM FOR JU-
VENILE OFFENDERS.—In the case of a juvenile (as such 
term is defined in section 5031), the court shall have the 
authority to impose a sentence that is 35 percent below 
a level established by statute as a minimum sentence so 
as to reflect the juvenile’s age and prospect for rehabilita-
tion.’’. 
(2) APPLICATION.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply only to a conviction entered 
on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
(b) DIRECTIVE TO SENTENCING COMMISSION.—Pur-
suant to its authority under section 994(p) of title 28, 
United States Code, and in accordance with this section, 
the United States Sentencing Commission shall review and 
amend, if appropriate, its guidelines and its policy state-
ments with respect to juveniles to ensure that the guide-
lines and policy statements are consistent with the amend-
ments made by subsection (a). 
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SECTION 4. PAROLE FOR JUVENILES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 403 of title 18, United 
States Code, is amended by inserting after section 5032 
the following: 
‘‘§ 5032A. Modification of an imposed term of impris-
onment for violations of law committed 
prior to age 18 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro-
vision of law, a court may reduce a term of imprisonment 
imposed upon a defendant convicted as an adult for an 
offense committed and completed before the defendant at-
tained 18 years of age if— 
‘‘(1) the defendant has served not less than 20 
years in custody for the offense; and 
‘‘(2) the court finds, after considering the fac-
tors set forth in subsection (c), that the defendant 
is not a danger to the safety of any person or the 
community and that the interests of justice warrant 
a sentence modification. 
‘‘(b) SUPERVISED RELEASE.—Any defendant whose 
sentence is reduced pursuant to subsection (a) shall be or-
dered to serve a period of supervised release of not less 
than 5 years following release from imprisonment. The 
conditions of supervised release and any modification or 
revocation of the term of supervised release shall be in 
accordance with section 3583. 
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‘‘(c) FACTORS AND INFORMATION TO BE CONSID-
ERED IN DETERMINING WHETHER TO MODIFY A TERM 
OF IMPRISONMENT.—The court, in determining whether 
to reduce a term of imprisonment pursuant to subsection 
(a), shall consider— 
‘‘(1) the factors described in section 3553(a), 
including the nature of the offense and the history 
and characteristics of the defendant; 
‘‘(2) the age of the defendant at the time of the 
offense; 
‘‘(3) a report and recommendation of the Bu-
reau of Prisons, including information on whether 
the defendant has substantially complied with the 
rules of each institution in which the defendant has 
been confined and whether the defendant has com-
pleted any educational, vocational, or other prison 
program, where available; 
‘‘(4) a report and recommendation of the 
United States attorney for any district in which an 
offense for which the defendant is imprisoned was 
prosecuted; 
‘‘(5) whether the defendant has demonstrated 
maturity, rehabilitation, and a fitness to reenter so-
ciety sufficient to justify a sentence reduction; 
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‘‘(6) any statement, which may be presented 
orally or otherwise, by any victim of an offense for 
which the defendant is imprisoned or by a family 
member of the victim if the victim is deceased; 
‘‘(7) any report from a physical, mental, or psy-
chiatric examination of the defendant conducted by 
a licensed health care professional; 
‘‘(8) the family and community circumstances 
of the defendant at the time of the offense, including 
any history of abuse, trauma, or involvement in the 
child welfare system; 
‘‘(9) the extent of the role of the defendant in 
the offense and whether, and to what extent, an 
adult was involved in the offense; 
‘‘(10) the diminished culpability of juveniles as 
compared to that of adults, and the hallmark fea-
tures of youth, including immaturity, impetuosity, 
and failure to appreciate risks and consequences, 
which counsel against sentencing juveniles to the 
otherwise applicable term of imprisonment; and 
‘‘(11) any other information the court deter-
mines relevant to the decision of the court. 
‘‘(d) LIMITATION ON APPLICATIONS PURSUANT TO 
THIS SECTION.— 
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in which the sentence described in subpara-
graph (A) was imposed. 
‘‘(2) CRIME VICTIMS RIGHTS.—Upon receiving 
notice under paragraph (1), the United States attor-
ney shall provide any notifications required under 
section 3771. 
‘‘(3) APPLICATION.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An application for a 
sentence reduction under this section shall be 
filed as a motion to reduce the sentence of the 
defendant and may include affidavits or other 
written material. 
‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT.—A motion to reduce 
a sentence under this section shall be filed with 
the sentencing court and a copy shall be served 
on the United States attorney for the judicial 
district in which the sentence was imposed. 
‘‘(4) EXPANDING THE RECORD; HEARING.— 
‘‘(A) EXPANDING THE RECORD.—After the 
filing of a motion to reduce a sentence under 
this section, the court may direct the parties to 
expand the record by submitting additional 
written materials relating to the motion. 
‘‘(B) HEARING.— 
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‘‘(C) APPEAL.—The Government or the 
defendant may file a notice of appeal in the dis-
trict court for review of a final order under this 
section. The time limit for filing such appeal 
shall be governed by rule 4(a) of the Federal 
Rules of Appellate Procedure. 
‘‘(f) EDUCATIONAL
AND
REHABILITATIVE
PRO-
GRAMS.—A defendant who is convicted and sentenced as 
an adult for an offense committed and completed before 
the defendant attained 18 years of age may not be de-
prived of any educational, training, or rehabilitative pro-
gram that is otherwise available to the general prison pop-
ulation.’’. 
(b) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of sections for 
chapter 403 of title 18, United States Code, is amended 
by inserting after the item relating to section 5032 the 
following: 
‘‘5032A. Modification of an imposed term of imprisonment for violations of law 
committed prior to age 18.’’. 
(c) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by this 
section shall apply to any conviction entered before, on, 
or after the date of enactment of this Act. 
Æ 
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