Judge Block continues to make case for broad second-look sentencing mechanisms

In this post from September, I noted Adam Liptak’s Sidebar column discussing federal compassionate release issues in conjunction with Judge Frederic Block’s new book, “A Second Chance: A Federal Judge Decides Who Deserves It.”  I was pleased to see today that Judge Block is continuing to make the case for second-look sentencing via this new press commentary titled “Second Look Act paves the way for sentencing reform.”  I recommend the full piece, and here is how it starts and ends:

In November 2022, I freed two people from prison. I could do that as a federal judge, because in 2018 Congress passed the First Step Act, allowing me to assess requests for compassionate release from individuals who, although they may have been convicted of serious offenses, have demonstrated that they deserve an opportunity for a second chance.

New York has the chance to ensure that state judges too have the ability to reevaluate sentences: The “Second Look Act” would allow incarcerated people to apply for a resentencing hearing after 10 years….

[I]n many states, the only relief mechanisms from Draconian sentences are executive clemency or parole boards. Clemency is rarely granted, and parole hearings don’t provide incarcerated individuals a meaningful chance to present their case. In a nationwide grading of state parole boards, the Prison Policy Initiative gave 36 states either an F or an F-.  New York was given a D-. Giving New York state judges the ability to reevaluate sentences would provide a humane mechanism for adjusting overly punitive sentences and correcting past injustices.

California, Colorado, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio and the District of Columbia have recently passed second-look legislation.  New York should join them and pass the Second Look Act, following Congress’ lead and paving the way for statewide sentencing reform to address our unwarranted and inhumane mass incarceration problem.