Second Look Act of 2019

I 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 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 ‘‘Second Look Act of 4 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Jul 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3795.IH H3795 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 3795 IH SEC. 2. MODIFICATION OF CERTAIN TERMS OF IMPRISON- 1 MENT. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter C of chapter 229 of 3 title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting after 4 section 3626 the following: 5 ‘‘SEC. 3627. MODIFICATION OF CERTAIN TERMS OF IMPRIS- 6 ONMENT. 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 if— 10 ‘‘(1) the imposed term of imprisonment was 11 more than 10 years; 12 ‘‘(2) the defendant has served not less than 10 13 years in custody for the offense; and 14 ‘‘(3) the court finds, after considering the fac- 15 tors set forth in subsection (c), that— 16 ‘‘(A) the defendant— 17 ‘‘(i) is not a danger to the safety of 18 any person or the community; and 19 ‘‘(ii) demonstrates readiness for re- 20 entry; and 21 ‘‘(B) the interests of justice warrant a sen- 22 tence modification. 23 ‘‘(b) SUPERVISED RELEASE.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Jul 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3795.IH H3795 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 3795 IH ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any defendant whose sen- 1 tence is reduced pursuant to subsection (a), shall be 2 ordered to serve— 3 ‘‘(A) the term of supervised release in- 4 cluded as part of the original sentence imposed 5 on the defendant; or 6 ‘‘(B) in the case of a defendant whose 7 original sentence did not include a term of su- 8 pervised release, a term of supervised release 9 not to exceed the authorized terms of super- 10 vised release described in section 3583. 11 ‘‘(2) CONDITIONS OF SUPERVISED RELEASE.— 12 The conditions of supervised release and any modi- 13 fication or revocation of the term of supervised re- 14 lease shall be in accordance with section 3583. 15 ‘‘(c) FACTORS AND INFORMATION TO BE CONSID- 16 ERED IN DETERMINING WHETHER TO MODIFY A TERM 17 OF IMPRISONMENT.— 18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The court, in determining 19 whether to reduce a term of imprisonment pursuant 20 to subsection (a)— 21 ‘‘(A) may consider the factors described in 22 section 3553(a), including the nature of the of- 23 fense and the history and characteristics of the 24 defendant; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Jul 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3795.IH H3795 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 3795 IH ‘‘(B) shall consider— 1 ‘‘(i) the age of the defendant at the 2 time of the offense; 3 ‘‘(ii) the age of the defendant at the 4 time of the sentence modification petition 5 and relevant data regarding the decline in 6 criminality as the age of defendants in- 7 crease; 8 ‘‘(iii) any presentation of argument 9 and evidence by counsel for the defendant; 10 ‘‘(iv) a report and recommendation of 11 the Bureau of Prisons, including informa- 12 tion on whether the defendant has substan- 13 tially complied with the rules of each insti- 14 tution in which the defendant has been 15 confined and whether the defendant has 16 completed any educational, vocational, or 17 other prison program, where available; 18 ‘‘(v) any report and recommendation 19 of the United States attorney for any dis- 20 trict in which an offense for which the de- 21 fendant is imprisoned was prosecuted; 22 ‘‘(vi) whether the defendant has dem- 23 onstrated maturity, rehabilitation, and a 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Jul 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3795.IH H3795 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 3795 IH fitness to reenter society sufficient to jus- 1 tify a sentence reduction; 2 ‘‘(vii) any statement, which may be 3 presented orally or otherwise, by any vic- 4 tim of an offense for which the defendant 5 is imprisoned or by a family member of the 6 victim if the victim is deceased; 7 ‘‘(viii) any report from a physical, 8 mental, or psychiatric examination of the 9 defendant conducted by a licensed health 10 care professional; 11 ‘‘(ix) the family and community cir- 12 cumstances of the defendant, including any 13 history of abuse, trauma, or involvement in 14 the child welfare system, and the potential 15 benefits to children and family members of 16 reunification with the defendant; 17 ‘‘(x) the role of the defendant in the 18 offense and whether, and to what extent, 19 an adult was involved in the offense if the 20 defendant was a juvenile at the time of the 21 offense; 22 ‘‘(xi) the diminished culpability of ju- 23 veniles as compared to that of adults, and 24 the hallmark features of youth, including 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Jul 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3795.IH H3795 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 3795 IH immaturity, impetuosity, and failure to ap- 1 preciate risks and consequences, if the de- 2 fendant was a juvenile at the time of the 3 offense; and 4 ‘‘(xii) any other information the court 5 determines relevant to the decision of the 6 court. 7 ‘‘(2) REBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION.—In the case 8 of a defendant who is 50 years of age or older on 9 the date on which the defendant files an application 10 for a sentence reduction under subsection (a), there 11 shall be a rebuttable presumption that the sentence 12 of the defendant shall be reduced. 13 ‘‘(d) LIMITATION ON APPLICATIONS PURSUANT TO 14 THIS SECTION.— 15 ‘‘(1) SECOND APPLICATION.—Not earlier than 16 5 years after the date on which an order denying re- 17 lease on an initial application under this section be- 18 comes final, a court shall entertain a second applica- 19 tion by the same defendant under this section. 20 ‘‘(2) THIRD APPLICATION.—Not earlier than 2 21 years after the date on which an order entered by 22 a court on a second application under paragraph (1) 23 becomes final, a court shall entertain a third appli- 24 cation by the same defendant under this section. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Jul 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3795.IH H3795 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 3795 IH ‘‘(3) FINAL APPLICATION.—A court shall enter- 1 tain a final application if the defendant— 2 ‘‘(A) is 50 years of age or older; and 3 ‘‘(B) has exhausted the sentencing modi- 4 fication process. 5 ‘‘(e) PROCEDURES.— 6 ‘‘(1) NOTICE.—Not later than 30 days after the 7 date on which the 10th year of imprisonment begins 8 for a defendant sentenced to more than 10 years of 9 imprisonment for an offense, the Bureau of Prisons 10 shall provide written notice of this section to— 11 ‘‘(A) the defendant; and 12 ‘‘(B) the sentencing court, the United 13 States attorney, and the Federal Public De- 14 fender or Executive Director of the Community 15 Defender Organization for the judicial district 16 in which the sentence described in this para- 17 graph was imposed. 18 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION.— 19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An application for a 20 sentence reduction under this section shall be 21 filed in the judicial district in which the sen- 22 tence was imposed as a motion to reduce the 23 sentence of the defendant pursuant to this sec- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Jul 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3795.IH H3795 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 3795 IH tion and may include affidavits or other written 1 material. 2 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT.—A motion to reduce 3 a sentence under this section shall be filed with 4 the sentencing court and a copy shall be served 5 on the United States attorney for the judicial 6 district in which the sentence was imposed. 7 ‘‘(3) EXPANDING THE RECORD; HEARING.— 8 ‘‘(A) EXPANDING THE RECORD.—After the 9 filing of a motion to reduce a sentence under 10 this section, the court may direct the parties to 11 expand the record by submitting additional 12 written materials relating to the motion. 13 ‘‘(B) HEARING.— 14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The court shall, 15 upon request of the defendant or the Gov- 16 ernment, conduct a hearing on the motion, 17 at which the defendant and counsel for the 18 defendant shall be given the opportunity to 19 be heard. 20 ‘‘(ii) EVIDENCE.—In a hearing under 21 this section, the court shall allow parties to 22 present evidence. 23 ‘‘(iii) DEFENDANT’S PRESENCE.—At 24 a hearing under this section, the defendant 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Jul 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3795.IH H3795 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 3795 IH shall be present unless the defendant 1 waives the right to be present. The re- 2 quirement under this clause may be satis- 3 fied by the defendant appearing by video 4 teleconference. 5 ‘‘(iv) COUNSEL.—A defendant who is 6 unable to afford counsel is entitled to have 7 counsel appointed, at no cost to the de- 8 fendant, to represent the defendant for the 9 application and proceedings under this sec- 10 tion, including any appeal, unless the de- 11 fendant expressly waives the right to coun- 12 sel after being fully advised of their rights 13 by the court. 14 ‘‘(v) FINDINGS.—The court shall state 15 in open court, and file in writing, the rea- 16 sons for granting or denying a motion 17 under this section. 18 ‘‘(C) APPEAL.—The Government or the 19 defendant may file a notice of appeal in the dis- 20 trict court for review of a final order under this 21 section. The time limit for filing such appeal 22 shall be governed by rule 4(a) of the Federal 23 Rules of Appellate Procedure. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Jul 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3795.IH H3795 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 3795 IH ‘‘(4) CRIME VICTIMS RIGHTS.—Upon receiving 1 an application under paragraph (2), the United 2 States attorney shall provide any notifications re- 3 quired under section 3771. 4 ‘‘(f) ANNUAL REPORT.— 5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 6 the date of enactment of the Second Look Act of 7 2019, and once every year thereafter, the United 8 States Sentencing Commission shall submit to the 9 Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the 10 Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Rep- 11 resentatives a report on requests for sentence reduc- 12 tions under this section. 13 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—Each report required to be 14 published under paragraph (1) shall include, for the 15 1-year period preceding the report— 16 ‘‘(A) the number of incarcerated individ- 17 uals granted and denied sentence reductions 18 under this section; 19 ‘‘(B) the number of incarcerated individ- 20 uals released from prison under this section; 21 ‘‘(C) the demographic characteristics, in- 22 cluding race and gender, of— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Jul 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3795.IH H3795 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 3795 IH ‘‘(i) the incarcerated individuals who 1 applied for a sentence reduction under this 2 section; 3 ‘‘(ii) the incarcerated individuals 4 granted sentence reductions under this sec- 5 tion; and 6 ‘‘(iii) the incarcerated individuals who 7 were released from prison under this sec- 8 tion; 9 ‘‘(D) the location, categorized by Federal 10 circuit and State, of— 11 ‘‘(i) the incarcerated individuals who 12 applied for sentence reductions under this 13 section; 14 ‘‘(ii) the incarcerated individuals 15 granted sentence reductions under this sec- 16 tion; and 17 ‘‘(iii) the incarcerated individuals who 18 were released from prison under this sec- 19 tion; 20 ‘‘(E) the average sentence reduction grant- 21 ed under this section; 22 ‘‘(F) the number of incarcerated individ- 23 uals 50 years of age or older who applied for 24 sentence reductions under this section; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Jul 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3795.IH H3795 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •HR 3795 IH ‘‘(G) the number of incarcerated individ- 1 uals 50 years of age or older who were granted 2 sentence reductions under this section; and 3 ‘‘(H) the number of individuals incarcer- 4 ated 50 years of age or older who were released 5 from prison under this section. 6 ‘‘(3) ATTORNEY GENERAL COOPERATION.—The 7 Attorney General shall assist and provide informa- 8 tion to the United States Sentencing Commission in 9 the performance of the Commission’s duties under 10 this subsection and promptly respond to requests 11 from the Commission.’’. 12 (b) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of sections for 13 subchapter C of chapter 229 of title 18, United States 14 Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to 15 section 3626 the following: 16 ‘‘3627. Modification of certain terms of imprisonment.’’. (c) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 17 Section 3582(c) of title 18, United States Code, is amend- 18 ed— 19 (1) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 20 the end; 21 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at 22 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 23 (3) by adding at the end the following: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:52 Aug 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3795.IH H3795 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •HR 3795 IH ‘‘(3) the court may reduce a term of imprison- 1 ment in accordance with section 3627.’’. 2 (d) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by this 3 section shall apply to any conviction entered before, on, 4 or after the date of enactment of this Act. 5 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Jul 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3795.IH H3795 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS