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Yahoo
29-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Senate committee moves Second Look Act one step closer to final passage
The Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee advanced the Second Look Act Friday on an 8-3 vote, putting the House bill one step closer to final passage. (Photo by William J. Ford/Maryland Matters) After an hour of robust debate, a Senate committee advanced a House bill Friday that would let some long-serving incarcerated individuals to ask a judge for a second chance at life. By an 8-3 vote, the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee approved the Second Look Act, which would let individuals who have served at least 20 years in prison petition for a reduced sentence. The bill sponsored by Del. Cheryl Pasteur (D-Baltimore County) passed the House on March 17. Sen. Charles Sydnor III (D-Baltimore County) sponsored a version in his chamber, but the Senate will work off Pasteur's bill. A similar bill passed the Senate last year but stalled in the House. This year's bill would apply to anyone sentenced for a crime committed between the ages of 18 and 25, who has served at least 20 years of their sentence. Those incarcerated would need to wait five years to petition the court again if they were turned down the first time, and those sentenced to life without the possibility of parole or a convicted 'sex offender' would not be eligible. Sen. Chris West (R-Baltimore and Carroll) said he has reservations about the age restrictions — those 18 to 25 should know right from wrong, he said — but he still voted in favor of it. 'Many will call, many will knock on the door, but not that many will be let out by the judge because it all depends on what you've done in the intervening 20 years,' West said after the Senate adjourned Friday afternoon. 'Does the judge really believe that you've reformed and you're longer a threat to society? I think we need to give them [those incarcerated] some consideration,' he said. Others worried that the bill would give a second chance to individuals charged with murder and other violent crimes. 'I would probably support this bill if it took out murder … and some of the violent crimes,' said Sen. Mary-Dulany James (D-Harford), who voted against the bill in committee. 'That's where I think it's a bridge too far.' Supporters of the bill have stressed this 'isn't a get out of jail free card' because it doesn't guarantee everyone incarcerated will be freed from prison. The bill would apply to an estimated 350 people. If a court decides to grant parole, it can order the paroled individual to 'stay away from and refrain from contact with a victim and victim's family … unless the victim requests otherwise.' A victim or a victim's representative would be able to submit an impact statement to the court 'regarding the impact of the crime and the proposed sentence reduction.' Those statements can 'carry weight' in court, said Sen. William C. Smith Jr. (D-Montgomery), chair of the committee, who voted in favor of the bill. But Sen. Mike McKay (R-Garrett, Allegany and Washington) said the bill would simply 'revictimize, revictimize, revictimize, revictimize.' House grants final approval to Second Look Act, sends bill to the Senate 'I believe that we are in the business of correcting and rehabilitating people, but not at the expense of increasing the amount of time to revictimize,' McKay said before he voted against the bill. Sydnor, who voted for the bill, said it attempts to strike a balance for victims and rehabilitation. 'This bill is really about mercy and grace for someone who has been incarcerated for a minimum of 20 years and who has shown or demonstrated that they have rehabilitated themselves,' he said. 'It's just a second look. Judges aren't being forced to release anyone.' Sen. William G. Folden (R-Frederick) cited families such as Richard and Dawn Collins, who traveled to Annapolis in January to testify against the bill on behalf of their son, Richard W. Collins III. He was visiting a friend at the University of Maryland, College Park, when he was fatally stabbed in a racially motivated hate crime in May 2017. The stabbing took place a few days before he was set to graduate from Bowie State University, where he was in the Army ROTC. 'This bill would undermine the small justice and the loss of her [Dawn Collins] up-and-coming second lieutenant son, going to make a difference,' said Folden, who voted against the measure. Folden said Richard 'told his mother the world would know his name. We know his name because his parents come down here and advocate on his behalf because he's no longer here.' Meanwhile, the bill's racial equity impact note notes that incarcerated Black prisoners could receive the most benefit. As of Jan. 1, the state Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services reported that 12,675, or 72%, of those incarcerated in the state's prisons are Black; the state's Black residents accounted for 31.6% of the state's overall population in 2023. Of the total 17,586 individuals incarcerated in the state, about 1,303 are serving life sentences and 331 are those without the possibility of parole. 'Black inmates would experience the most significant impact given their overrepresentation in the State's incarcerated population,' according to the note. The full Senate could debate the measure sometime next week. It would have to act before April 7, the last day of the legislative session. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
House grants final approval to Second Look Act, sends bill to the Senate
Del. Cheryl Pasteur (D-Baltimore County), left, listens to House Minority Whip Jesse Pippy (R-Frederick) explain why he doesn't support Pasteur's Second Look Act, which passed the House Monday on an 89-49 vote. (Photo by William J. Ford/Maryland Matters) The House voted 89-49 Monday to approve a bill that would let those incarcerated for 20 years or more petition a judge to have their sentences reduced. Passage of the bill, known as the Second Look Act, followed 30 minutes of emotionally charged debate Monday, a continuation of more than two hours of debate Saturday, as House Republicans tried unsuccessfully to amend the bill to make a number of violent crimes ineligible for it. House Minority Leader Jesse Pippy (R-Frederick) said Monday that amendments rejected Saturday focused on the 'worst of the worst' of those incarcerated and convicted of crimes, such as murder of children, domestic violence homicides and the killing of police and parole officers. 'I 100% sympathize with the bill's sponsor, who has probably had a lot of time to process, and I can't imagine,' Pippy said, looking toward the bill's sponsor, Del. Cheryl Pasteur (D-Baltimore County), who gave an emotional recounting Saturday of an attempted rape when she was a teenager. 'I've got to stand up for all the other victims,' Pippy said. 'I got to stand up for all the other families who may not be ready for this legislation.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX But Pasteur, a retired educator, said that some of those in prison deserve the second chance at life the bill offers. 'I know that so many of the young people who ended up prison who fall under this bill are not the worst of the worst,' she said. 'My commitment is that long as I draw breath in God's world … I will commit to an organization to support every person … who comes out on Second Look that I will know their names. No one should come out of prison and be alone.' Supporters stressed the bill is not a get-out-jail-free card and apply to about 350 people. Del. Luke Clippinger (D-Baltimore City), chair of the Judiciary Committee, has said the bill would only apply to people convicted of a crime they committed between the ages of 18 and 25. It would not be available for those sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. A victim or a victim's representative would be able to submit an impact statement to the court 'regarding the impact of the crime and the proposed sentence reduction.' The bill was a priority for the Legislative Black Caucus, but at least one of its members, Del. C.T. Wilson (D-Charles County) said he can't support 'murderers.' He was one of a handful of Democrats who voted against the bill. 'You may sit here and judge me as heartless, unsympathetic, or without compassion. Maybe that's true,' Wilson said on the House floor before he voted against the bill. 'But I dedicated my entire time up here to fighting for victims. I cannot sit here and fight for the rights of murderers when their victims lie rotting away in silence.' Del. Gabriel Acevero (D-Montgomery) said he supported the legislation for those who are innocent of alleged crimes committed. 'I heard no mention of innocent Marylanders who would benefit from this bill,' said Acevero, who cited a few people imprisoned who were later deemed innocent, such as Gary Washington. 'Let's be clear who you're voting against when you don't vote for this bill: It's the innocent.' Now the House bill heads to the Senate, where a hearing was held Jan. 30 on a Senate version of the bill sponsored by Sen. Charles Sydnor III (D-Baltimore County). It has not yet advanced out of the Judicial Proceedings Committee, but the full Senate last year approved the bill, which failed in the House. Sen. William C. Smith Jr. (D-Montgomery), chair of the Judicial Proceedings Committee, said Monday he hasn't seen the final House version passed Monday afternoon, but that, 'It's a priority for me.' 'We'll get a look at it and run it by committee,' he said. 'It'll be a vigorous debate in committee and if it advances out of committee on the [Senate] floor.'
