Sara’s Law and the Preventing Unfair Sentencing Act of 2021

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- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Sara’s Law and the 4 Preventing Unfair Sentencing Act of 2021’’. 5 SECTION 2. SENTENCING YOUTHFUL VICTIM OFFENDERS 6 WHO HAVE BEEN TRAFFICKED, ABUSED, OR 7 ASSAULTED. 8 (a) SENTENCING YOUTHFUL VICTIM OFFENDERS.— 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:43 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2858.IH H2858 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2858 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 3553 of chapter 227 1 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by add- 2 ing at the end the following: 3 ‘‘(h) SENTENCING YOUTHFUL VICTIM OFFEND- 4 ERS.— 5 ‘‘(1) STATUTORY MINIMUMS.—In the case of a 6 youthful victim offender, the court shall have the au- 7 thority to impose a sentence that is below a level es- 8 tablished by statute as a minimum sentence so as to 9 consider the effect of trauma on the offender’s con- 10 duct. 11 ‘‘(2) SUSPENSION OF SENTENCE.—In the case 12 of a youthful offender, the court shall have the au- 13 thority to suspend any portion of an imposed sen- 14 tence. 15 ‘‘(3) YOUTHFUL VICTIM OFFENDER DE- 16 FINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘youthful vic- 17 tim offender’ means an individual who— 18 ‘‘(A) has not attained the age of 18; and 19 ‘‘(B) has been convicted of a violent of- 20 fense against a person who the court finds, by 21 clear and convincing evidence, engaged in con- 22 duct against such individual, not earlier than 1 23 year before such violent offense, that is an of- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:43 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2858.IH H2858 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2858 IH fense under section 1591 or an offense under 1 chapter 71, 109A, 110, or 117.’’. 2 (2) APPLICATION.—The amendments made by 3 this section shall apply only to a conviction entered 4 on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 5 (b) DIRECTIVE TO SENTENCING COMMISSION.—Pur- 6 suant to its authority under section 994(p) of title 28, 7 United States Code, and in accordance with this section, 8 the United States Sentencing Commission shall review and 9 amend, if appropriate, its guidelines and its policy state- 10 ments with respect to youthful victim offenders to ensure 11 that the guidelines and policy statements are consistent 12 with the amendments made by subsection (a). 13 SECTION 3. SENTENCING JUVENILE OFFENDERS. 14 (a) SENTENCING JUVENILE OFFENDERS.— 15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 3553 of chapter 227 16 of title 18, United States Code, is amended— 17 (A) in subsection (a)— 18 (i) in paragraph (6), by striking 19 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 20 (ii) in paragraph (7), by striking the 21 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; 22 and 23 (iii) by adding at the end the fol- 24 lowing: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:43 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2858.IH H2858 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2858 IH ‘‘(8) in the case of a juvenile (as such term is 1 defined in section 5031), the diminished culpability 2 of juveniles compared to that of adults.’’; and 3 (B) by adding at the end the following: 4 ‘‘(h) LIMITATION ON STATUTORY MINIMUM FOR JU- 5 VENILE OFFENDERS.—In the case of a juvenile (as such 6 term is defined in section 5031), the court shall have the 7 authority to impose a sentence that is 35 percent below 8 a level established by statute as a minimum sentence so 9 as to reflect the juvenile’s age and prospect for rehabilita- 10 tion.’’. 11 (2) APPLICATION.—The amendments made by 12 this section shall apply only to a conviction entered 13 on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 14 (b) DIRECTIVE TO SENTENCING COMMISSION.—Pur- 15 suant to its authority under section 994(p) of title 28, 16 United States Code, and in accordance with this section, 17 the United States Sentencing Commission shall review and 18 amend, if appropriate, its guidelines and its policy state- 19 ments with respect to juveniles to ensure that the guide- 20 lines and policy statements are consistent with the amend- 21 ments made by subsection (a). 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:43 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2858.IH H2858 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2858 IH SECTION 4. PAROLE FOR JUVENILES. 1 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 403 of title 18, United 2 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 5032 3 the following: 4 ‘‘§ 5032A. Modification of an imposed term of impris- 5 onment for violations of law committed 6 prior to age 18 7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro- 8 vision of law, a court may reduce a term of imprisonment 9 imposed upon a defendant convicted as an adult for an 10 offense committed and completed before the defendant at- 11 tained 18 years of age if— 12 ‘‘(1) the defendant has served not less than 20 13 years in custody for the offense; and 14 ‘‘(2) the court finds, after considering the fac- 15 tors set forth in subsection (c), that the defendant 16 is not a danger to the safety of any person or the 17 community and that the interests of justice warrant 18 a sentence modification. 19 ‘‘(b) SUPERVISED RELEASE.—Any defendant whose 20 sentence is reduced pursuant to subsection (a) shall be or- 21 dered to serve a period of supervised release of not less 22 than 5 years following release from imprisonment. The 23 conditions of supervised release and any modification or 24 revocation of the term of supervised release shall be in 25 accordance with section 3583. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:43 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2858.IH H2858 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2858 IH ‘‘(c) FACTORS AND INFORMATION TO BE CONSID- 1 ERED IN DETERMINING WHETHER TO MODIFY A TERM 2 OF IMPRISONMENT.—The court, in determining whether 3 to reduce a term of imprisonment pursuant to subsection 4 (a), shall consider— 5 ‘‘(1) the factors described in section 3553(a), 6 including the nature of the offense and the history 7 and characteristics of the defendant; 8 ‘‘(2) the age of the defendant at the time of the 9 offense; 10 ‘‘(3) a report and recommendation of the Bu- 11 reau of Prisons, including information on whether 12 the defendant has substantially complied with the 13 rules of each institution in which the defendant has 14 been confined and whether the defendant has com- 15 pleted any educational, vocational, or other prison 16 program, where available; 17 ‘‘(4) a report and recommendation of the 18 United States attorney for any district in which an 19 offense for which the defendant is imprisoned was 20 prosecuted; 21 ‘‘(5) whether the defendant has demonstrated 22 maturity, rehabilitation, and a fitness to reenter so- 23 ciety sufficient to justify a sentence reduction; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:43 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2858.IH H2858 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2858 IH ‘‘(6) any statement, which may be presented 1 orally or otherwise, by any victim of an offense for 2 which the defendant is imprisoned or by a family 3 member of the victim if the victim is deceased; 4 ‘‘(7) any report from a physical, mental, or psy- 5 chiatric examination of the defendant conducted by 6 a licensed health care professional; 7 ‘‘(8) the family and community circumstances 8 of the defendant at the time of the offense, including 9 any history of abuse, trauma, or involvement in the 10 child welfare system; 11 ‘‘(9) the extent of the role of the defendant in 12 the offense and whether, and to what extent, an 13 adult was involved in the offense; 14 ‘‘(10) the diminished culpability of juveniles as 15 compared to that of adults, and the hallmark fea- 16 tures of youth, including immaturity, impetuosity, 17 and failure to appreciate risks and consequences, 18 which counsel against sentencing juveniles to the 19 otherwise applicable term of imprisonment; and 20 ‘‘(11) any other information the court deter- 21 mines relevant to the decision of the court. 22 ‘‘(d) LIMITATION ON APPLICATIONS PURSUANT TO 23 THIS SECTION.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:43 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2858.IH H2858 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2858 IH ‘‘(1) SECOND APPLICATION.—Not earlier than 1 5 years after the date on which an order entered by 2 a court on an initial application under this section 3 becomes final, a court shall entertain a second appli- 4 cation by the same defendant under this section. 5 ‘‘(2) FINAL APPLICATION.—Not earlier than 5 6 years after the date on which an order entered by 7 a court on a second application under paragraph (1) 8 becomes final, a court shall entertain a final applica- 9 tion by the same defendant under this section. 10 ‘‘(3) PROHIBITION.—A court may not entertain 11 an application filed after an application filed under 12 paragraph (2) by the same defendant. 13 ‘‘(e) PROCEDURES.— 14 ‘‘(1) NOTICE.—The Bureau of Prisons shall 15 provide written notice of this section to— 16 ‘‘(A) any defendant who has served not 17 less than 19 years in prison for an offense com- 18 mitted and completed before the defendant at- 19 tained 18 years of age for which the defendant 20 was convicted as an adult; and 21 ‘‘(B) the sentencing court, the United 22 States attorney, and the Federal Public De- 23 fender or Executive Director of the Community 24 Defender Organization for the judicial district 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:43 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2858.IH H2858 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2858 IH in which the sentence described in subpara- 1 graph (A) was imposed. 2 ‘‘(2) CRIME VICTIMS RIGHTS.—Upon receiving 3 notice under paragraph (1), the United States attor- 4 ney shall provide any notifications required under 5 section 3771. 6 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION.— 7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An application for a 8 sentence reduction under this section shall be 9 filed as a motion to reduce the sentence of the 10 defendant and may include affidavits or other 11 written material. 12 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT.—A motion to reduce 13 a sentence under this section shall be filed with 14 the sentencing court and a copy shall be served 15 on the United States attorney for the judicial 16 district in which the sentence was imposed. 17 ‘‘(4) EXPANDING THE RECORD; HEARING.— 18 ‘‘(A) EXPANDING THE RECORD.—After the 19 filing of a motion to reduce a sentence under 20 this section, the court may direct the parties to 21 expand the record by submitting additional 22 written materials relating to the motion. 23 ‘‘(B) HEARING.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:43 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2858.IH H2858 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2858 IH ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The court shall 1 conduct a hearing on the motion, at which 2 the defendant and counsel for the defend- 3 ant shall be given the opportunity to be 4 heard. 5 ‘‘(ii) EVIDENCE.—In a hearing under 6 this section, the court may allow parties to 7 present evidence. 8 ‘‘(iii) DEFENDANT’S PRESENCE.—At 9 a hearing under this section, the defendant 10 shall be present unless the defendant 11 waives the right to be present. The re- 12 quirement under this clause may be satis- 13 fied by the defendant appearing by video 14 teleconference. 15 ‘‘(iv) COUNSEL.—A defendant who is 16 unable to obtain counsel is entitled to have 17 counsel appointed to represent the defend- 18 ant for proceedings under this section, in- 19 cluding any appeal, unless the defendant 20 waives the right to counsel. 21 ‘‘(v) FINDINGS.—The court shall state 22 in open court, and file in writing, the rea- 23 sons for granting or denying a motion 24 under this section. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:43 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2858.IH H2858 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2858 IH ‘‘(C) APPEAL.—The Government or the 1 defendant may file a notice of appeal in the dis- 2 trict court for review of a final order under this 3 section. The time limit for filing such appeal 4 shall be governed by rule 4(a) of the Federal 5 Rules of Appellate Procedure. 6 ‘‘(f) EDUCATIONAL AND REHABILITATIVE PRO- 7 GRAMS.—A defendant who is convicted and sentenced as 8 an adult for an offense committed and completed before 9 the defendant attained 18 years of age may not be de- 10 prived of any educational, training, or rehabilitative pro- 11 gram that is otherwise available to the general prison pop- 12 ulation.’’. 13 (b) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of sections for 14 chapter 403 of title 18, United States Code, is amended 15 by inserting after the item relating to section 5032 the 16 following: 17 ‘‘5032A. Modification of an imposed term of imprisonment for violations of law committed prior to age 18.’’. (c) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by this 18 section shall apply to any conviction entered before, on, 19 or after the date of enactment of this Act. 20 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:43 Jun 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2858.IH H2858 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS