Title: Second Look Act of 2019
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Second Look Act of 2019
This bill allows a defendant who has served at least 10 years in prison to petition a federal court for a sentence reduction.
Specifically, a court may reduce the prison term for a defendant if (1) the imposed prison term was more than 10 years; (2) the defendant has served at least 10 years in custody; and (3) the court finds that the defendant is not a danger to public safety, is ready for reentry, and the interests of justice warrant a sentence modification. The bill outlines the factors a court may consider in reducing a prison term.
Further, the bill creates a rebuttable presumption of sentence reduction for a defendant who is 50 years of age or older on the date of the petition.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3795 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3795

To enable incarcerated persons to petition a Federal court for a second 
   look at sentences longer than 10 years, where the person is not a 
danger to the safety of any person or the community, and has shown they 
             are ready for reentry, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 17, 2019

   Ms. Bass introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To enable incarcerated persons to petition a Federal court for a second 
   look at sentences longer than 10 years, where the person is not a 
danger to the safety of any person or the community, and has shown they 
             are ready for reentry, 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 ``Second Look Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. MODIFICATION OF CERTAIN TERMS OF IMPRISONMENT.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter C of chapter 229 of title 18, United 
States Code, is amended by inserting after section 3626 the following:

``SEC. 3627. MODIFICATION OF CERTAIN TERMS OF IMPRISONMENT.

    ``(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a 
court may reduce a term of imprisonment imposed upon a defendant if--
            ``(1) the imposed term of imprisonment was more than 10 
        years;
            ``(2) the defendant has served not less than 10 years in 
        custody for the offense; and
            ``(3) the court finds, after considering the factors set 
        forth in subsection (c), that--
                    ``(A) the defendant--
                            ``(i) is not a danger to the safety of any 
                        person or the community; and
                            ``(ii) demonstrates readiness for reentry; 
                        and
                    ``(B) the interests of justice warrant a sentence 
                modification.
    ``(b) Supervised Release.--
            ``(1) In general.--Any defendant whose sentence is reduced 
        pursuant to subsection (a), shall be ordered to serve--
                    ``(A) the term of supervised release included as 
                part of the original sentence imposed on the defendant; 
                or
                    ``(B) in the case of a defendant whose original 
                sentence did not include a term of supervised release, 
                a term of supervised release not to exceed the 
                authorized terms of supervised release described in 
                section 3583.
            ``(2) Conditions of supervised release.--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.--
            ``(1) In general.--The court, in determining whether to 
        reduce a term of imprisonment pursuant to subsection (a)--
                    ``(A) may consider the factors described in section 
                3553(a), including the nature of the offense and the 
                history and characteristics of the defendant; and
                    ``(B) shall consider--
                            ``(i) the age of the defendant at the time 
                        of the offense;
                            ``(ii) the age of the defendant at the time 
                        of the sentence modification petition and 
                        relevant data regarding the decline in 
                        criminality as the age of defendants increase;
                            ``(iii) any presentation of argument and 
                        evidence by counsel for the defendant;
                            ``(iv) 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;
                            ``(v) any report and recommendation of the 
                        United States attorney for any district in 
                        which an offense for which the defendant is 
                        imprisoned was prosecuted;
                            ``(vi) whether the defendant has 
                        demonstrated maturity, rehabilitation, and a 
                        fitness to reenter society sufficient to 
                        justify a sentence reduction;
                            ``(vii) 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;
                            ``(viii) any report from a physical, 
                        mental, or psychiatric examination of the 
                        defendant conducted by a licensed health care 
                        professional;
                            ``(ix) the family and community 
                        circumstances of the defendant, including any 
                        history of abuse, trauma, or involvement in the 
                        child welfare system, and the potential 
                        benefits to children and family members of 
                        reunification with the defendant;
                            ``(x) the role of the defendant in the 
                        offense and whether, and to what extent, an 
                        adult was involved in the offense if the 
                        defendant was a juvenile at the time of the 
                        offense;
                            ``(xi) 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, if the 
                        defendant was a juvenile at the time of the 
                        offense; and
                            ``(xii) any other information the court 
                        determines relevant to the decision of the 
                        court.
            ``(2) Rebuttable presumption.--In the case of a defendant 
        who is 50 years of age or older on the date on which the 
        defendant files an application for a sentence reduction under 
        subsection (a), there shall be a rebuttable presumption that 
        the sentence of the defendant shall be reduced.
    ``(d) Limitation on Applications Pursuant to This Section.--
            ``(1) Second application.--Not earlier than 5 years after 
        the date on which an order denying release on an initial 
        application under this section becomes final, a court shall 
        entertain a second application by the same defendant under this 
        section.
            ``(2) Third application.--Not earlier than 2 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 third application by the same defendant under this 
        section.
            ``(3) Final application.--A court shall entertain a final 
        application if the defendant--
                    ``(A) is 50 years of age or older; and
                    ``(B) has exhausted the sentencing modification 
                process.
    ``(e) Procedures.--
            ``(1) Notice.--Not later than 30 days after the date on 
        which the 10th year of imprisonment begins for a defendant 
        sentenced to more than 10 years of imprisonment for an offense, 
        the Bureau of Prisons shall provide written notice of this 
        section to--
                    ``(A) the defendant; 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 
                this paragraph was imposed.
            ``(2) Application.--
                    ``(A) In general.--An application for a sentence 
                reduction under this section shall be filed in the 
                judicial district in which the sentence was imposed as 
                a motion to reduce the sentence of the defendant 
                pursuant to this section 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.
            ``(3) 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, upon 
                        request of the defendant or the Government, 
                        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 shall 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 afford counsel is entitled to have counsel 
                        appointed, at no cost to the defendant, to 
                        represent the defendant for the application and 
                        proceedings under this section, including any 
                        appeal, unless the defendant expressly waives 
                        the right to counsel after being fully advised 
                        of their rights by the court.
                            ``(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.
            ``(4) Crime victims rights.--Upon receiving an application 
        under paragraph (2), the United States attorney shall provide 
        any notifications required under section 3771.
    ``(f) Annual Report.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of the Second Look Act of 2019, and once every year 
        thereafter, the United States Sentencing Commission shall 
        submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the 
        Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives a 
        report on requests for sentence reductions under this section.
            ``(2) Contents.--Each report required to be published under 
        paragraph (1) shall include, for the 1-year period preceding 
        the report--
                    ``(A) the number of incarcerated individuals 
                granted and denied sentence reductions under this 
                section;
                    ``(B) the number of incarcerated individuals 
                released from prison under this section;
                    ``(C) the demographic characteristics, including 
                race and gender, of--
                            ``(i) the incarcerated individuals who 
                        applied for a sentence reduction under this 
                        section;
                            ``(ii) the incarcerated individuals granted 
                        sentence reductions under this section; and
                            ``(iii) the incarcerated individuals who 
                        were released from prison under this section;
                    ``(D) the location, categorized by Federal circuit 
                and State, of--
                            ``(i) the incarcerated individuals who 
                        applied for sentence reductions under this 
                        section;
                            ``(ii) the incarcerated individuals granted 
                        sentence reductions under this section; and
                            ``(iii) the incarcerated individuals who 
                        were released from prison under this section;
                    ``(E) the average sentence reduction granted under 
                this section;
                    ``(F) the number of incarcerated individuals 50 
                years of age or older who applied for sentence 
                reductions under this section;
                    ``(G) the number of incarcerated individuals 50 
                years of age or older who were granted sentence 
                reductions under this section; and
                    ``(H) the number of individuals incarcerated 50 
                years of age or older who were released from prison 
                under this section.
            ``(3) Attorney general cooperation.--The Attorney General 
        shall assist and provide information to the United States 
        Sentencing Commission in the performance of the Commission's 
        duties under this subsection and promptly respond to requests 
        from the Commission.''.
    (b) Table of Sections.--The table of sections for subchapter C of 
chapter 229 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting 
after the item relating to section 3626 the following:

``3627. Modification of certain terms of imprisonment.''.
    (c) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--Section 3582(c) of title 
18, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) the court may reduce a term of imprisonment in 
        accordance with section 3627.''.
    (d) 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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