SB 94 - Judicial Review of Old Sentences Fact Sheet
Heidi • February 10, 2023
Fact Sheet distributed by Senator Cortese's office regarding Senate Bill 94
As a member of the DROP LWOP coalition, the Felony Murder Elimination Project is co-sponsoring Senate Bill 94, authored by State Senator Dave Cortese (D-San Jose), for consideration during the current legislative session. This bill would provide for judicial review for individuals serving life without parole or sentenced to death for offenses committed before June 5, 1990, and who have served at least 20 years of their sentence.
A fact sheet distributed by Senator Cortese's office offers the following highlights of SB94:
- Courts will review evidence of mitigating factors or reduced risk of violence consistent with changes in California law enacted in since the original sentencing date.
- As a result of those changes to California law, many individuals who received extreme sentences decades ago would not be sentenced the same way today.
- In these cases, judges will have the discretion to leave the sentence unchanged or to resentence the person to a lesser sentence.
- SB94 creates a process for the review of cases that have not been looked at in decades. For incarcerated persons who merit a second chance, there will be an opportunity for them to work to earn parole.
You can view and download the SB94 fact sheet here (opens in Google Drive).
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