SB 300 The Sentencing Reform Act of 2021

Joanne Scheer • February 9, 2021

Dear friends, family, allies and loved ones,

** WE ARE SO EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE **

SB 300 (Cortese) The Sentencing Reform Act of 2021

Felony Murder Elimination Project in partnership with California Coalition for Women Prisoners, Californians United for a Responsible Budget (CURB), Drop LWOP Coalition, Families United to End LWOP (FUEL), Drop LWOP Coalition, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, and Silicon Valley De-Bug is excited to announce Senator Dave Cortese’s SB 300 Sentencing Reform Act of 2021!

Tomorrow at a virtual press conference, Senator Dave Cortese will introduce the new bill, SB 300 – The Sentencing Reform Act of 2021, which will reform California’s felony murder special circumstances law and ensure that the death penalty and life without the possibility of parole cannot be imposed on those who did not kill, nor intend that a person die, during a crime. SB 300 will provide recourse to hundreds of people convicted under the “felony murder special circumstances law” who are currently awaiting execution or condemned to die in prison. Thank you to Senator Cortese and bill sponsors!

Please join us here: https://www.facebook.com/davecortesegov for this livestream event on Tuesday, February 9th, at 10:30 am (Pacific).

Our beloved allies Christina Mendoza, Raj Jayadev, Tammy Garvin Cooper, myself and Senator Cortese will be speaking on the bill's importance.

Attached you will find the Legislative Fact Sheet with more information about the bill. You can find the text of the bill here.

We will need lots of community support to get this important bill passed. Stay tuned for lots of ways to plug in.

For all of us at Felony Murder Elimination Project, this important bill has been 11 years in the making. We have watched and supported bills that have not impacted our loved ones who are serving life without parole sentences due to felony murder special circumstances. I am beyond thrilled to say, “It is finally our turn.” Never. Stand. Down.

If you would like to get the word out about the event on facebook; please click here.

Incarcerated Firefighters during the January 2025 Southern California wildfires (Photo: Getty Images
By Heidi May 1, 2025
Almost 600 US federal and state prisons are located within three miles of EPA Superfund Sites. As such, incarcerated people are often assigned to work for the industries that fuel climate change, performing hazardous work with little to no training while earning slave wages.
Graphic: Stop killing veterans! Save Jeffrey Hutchinson - take action bit.ly/Jeffrey Hutchinson
By Heidi April 30, 2025
Tomorrow, Florida is set to carry out the state-sanctioned murder of mentally ill Gulf War veteran Jeffrey Hutchinson. We call on our supporters to voice their opposition and take action to stop this cruel and unjust punishment.
Participants in Minnesota’s first prison chess tournament at MCF-Stillwater (Kerem Yücel /MPR News)
By Heidi April 29, 2025
Minnesota Correctional Facility-Stillwater hosted an official chess tournament in mid-April, taking a pastime - and a way to pass time - for many incarcerated persons, and allowing them to play the game in a formal competition.
two persons holding a banner protesting solitary confinement (Photo: Solitary Watch)
By Heidi April 25, 2025
Prolonged solitary confinement isolation destroys a person’s personality and their mental health and effects may last long after the end of the period of segregation. Solitary Watch spoke to formerly incarcerated people who spent extended time in solitary confinement about life after release.
New Hampshire Statehouse in Concord, NH (AP file photo)
By Heidi April 23, 2025
In New Hampshire, there is a strict three-year deadline to file a motion for a new trial, regardless when new exonerating evidence is discovered. Senate Bill 141 would create room for exceptions and allow the wrongfully convicted to file a motion after three years if there is newly discovered evidence.
Michigan Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Welch (Photo: Dale G. Young, The Detroit News)
By Heidi April 22, 2025
Last Thursday, the Michigan Supreme Court struck down automatic, LWOP sentences for 19 and 20-year-olds convicted of murder. As a result, hundreds of people will be eligible for resentencing opportunities.
Civil Rights Attorney & Author Alec Karakatsanis (Photo: University of Texas School of Law)
By Heidi April 21, 2025
Civil Rights Attorney Alex Karakatsanis' newest book Copaganda discusses how media coverage manipulates public perception, fueling fear and inequality, and distracts from what matters; affordable housing, adequate healthcare, early childhood education, and climate-friendly city planning.
Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla CA (Photo: Tomas Ovalle, Fresno Bee)
By Heidi April 18, 2025
California lawmakers seek more oversight at women's prisons, which face thousands of sexual misconduct and assault complaints and are delivering a poor track record of properly investigating those complaints.
Protect Elder Parole - voice  opposition to AB 47 ahead of CA Assembly Public Safety Cmt. hearing
By Heidi April 17, 2025
FMEP asks supporters take action & urge CA Assembly Public Safety Committee to protect elder parole by OPPOSING Assembly Bill 47, the sister bill to SB 286, which would decimate California's Elderly Parole Program.
Flyer: 4/16 630pPT; panel on LA County's struggle to protect youth in LA County Probation Custody
By Heidi April 16, 2025
Today, Wednesday, April 16 at 6:30 p.m. in Los Angeles, join Southern California CeaseFire Committee and Everyday Heroes LA in a discussion on Los Angeles County's struggle to protect, support and uplift the youth in LA County Probation custody.
Show More