Sara’s Law and the Preventing Unfair Sentencing Act of 2021
Bill: H.R.2858 | Sponsor: Rep. Westerman, Bruce (R-AR)
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Sara's Law and the Preventing Unfair Sentencing Act of 2021
This bill modifies federal sentencing options for individuals who commit criminal offenses as juveniles.
Specifically, the bill authorizes federal sentencing courts to do the following:

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.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 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.--
            (1) In general.--Section 3553 of chapter 227 of title 18, 
        United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
        following:
    ``(h) Sentencing Youthful Victim Offenders.--
            ``(1) Statutory minimums.--In the case of a youthful victim 
        offender, the court shall have the authority to impose a 
        sentence that is below a level established by statute as a 
        minimum sentence so as to consider the effect of trauma on the 
        offender's conduct.
            ``(2) Suspension of sentence.--In the case of a youthful 
        offender, the court shall have the authority to suspend any 
        portion of an imposed sentence.
            ``(3) Youthful victim offender defined.--In this 
        subsection, the term `youthful victim offender' means an 
        individual who--
                    ``(A) has not attained the age of 18; and
                    ``(B) has been convicted of a violent offense 
                against a person who the court finds, by clear and 
                convincing evidence, engaged in conduct against such 
                individual, not earlier than 1 year before such violent 
                offense, that is an offense 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.--Pursuant 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 statements 
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 following:
            ``(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 Juvenile 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 rehabilitation.''.
            (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.--Pursuant 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 statements 
with respect to juveniles to ensure that the guidelines and policy 
statements are consistent with the amendments made by subsection (a).

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:
``Sec. 5032A. Modification of an imposed term of imprisonment for 
              violations of law committed prior to age 18
    ``(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision 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 attained 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 factors 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 ordered 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.
    ``(c) Factors and Information To Be Considered 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 Bureau 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 completed 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 society sufficient to 
        justify a sentence reduction;
            ``(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 psychiatric 
        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 features 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 determines relevant 
        to the decision of the court.
    ``(d) Limitation on Applications Pursuant to This Section.--
            ``(1) Second application.--Not earlier than 5 years after 
        the date on which an order entered by a court on an initial 
        application under this section becomes final, a court shall 
        entertain a second application by the same defendant under this 
        section.
            ``(2) Final application.--Not earlier than 5 years after 
        the date on which an order entered by a court on a second 
        application under paragraph (1) becomes final, a court shall 
        entertain a final application by the same defendant under this 
        section.
            ``(3) Prohibition.--A court may not entertain an 
        application filed after an application filed under paragraph 
        (2) by the same defendant.
    ``(e) Procedures.--
            ``(1) Notice.--The Bureau of Prisons shall provide written 
        notice of this section to--
                    ``(A) any defendant who has served not less than 19 
                years in prison for an offense committed and completed 
                before the defendant attained 18 years of age for which 
                the defendant was convicted as an adult; and
                    ``(B) the sentencing court, the United States 
                attorney, and the Federal Public Defender or Executive 
                Director of the Community Defender Organization for the 
                judicial district in which the sentence described in 
                subparagraph (A) was imposed.
            ``(2) Crime victims rights.--Upon receiving notice under 
        paragraph (1), the United States attorney 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.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The court shall conduct 
                        a hearing on the motion, at which the defendant 
                        and counsel for the defendant shall be given 
                        the opportunity to be heard.
                            ``(ii) Evidence.--In a hearing under this 
                        section, the court may allow parties to present 
                        evidence.
                            ``(iii) Defendant's presence.--At a hearing 
                        under this section, the defendant shall be 
                        present unless the defendant waives the right 
                        to be present. The requirement under this 
                        clause may be satisfied by the defendant 
                        appearing by video teleconference.
                            ``(iv) Counsel.--A defendant who is unable 
                        to obtain counsel is entitled to have counsel 
                        appointed to represent the defendant for 
                        proceedings under this section, including any 
                        appeal, unless the defendant waives the right 
                        to counsel.
                            ``(v) Findings.--The court shall state in 
                        open court, and file in writing, the reasons 
                        for granting or denying a motion under this 
                        section.
                    ``(C) Appeal.--The Government or the defendant may 
                file a notice of appeal in the district 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 Programs.--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 
deprived of any educational, training, or rehabilitative program that 
is otherwise available to the general prison population.''.
    (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.
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