sentencing reform Archives - Northwest Public Broadcasting

Washington makes a major change to prison sentencing, but not for people already behind bars

By Northwest News Network June 14, 2023

Travis ComesLast, center right, is known as a community leader, working with other incarcerated Indigenous men to stay connected with their culture

When Travis ComesLast was 20 years old, he was on the run from juvenile detention. He and a friend were looking for ways to get some cash so they could skip town. But during what he describes as a drug deal gone bad, ComesLast shot and killed a man.Read More

The Supreme Court Declines To Expand Sentencing Reforms For Crack Cocaine Cases

By NPR News June 14, 2021

The U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that some crack cocaine offenders sentenced to harsh prison terms more than a decade ago cannot get their sentences reduced under a federal law adopted with the purpose of doing just that.Read More

U.S. Supreme Court Hears Case That Could End Non-Unanimous Juries In Oregon

By Conrad Wilson October 6, 2019

U.S. Supreme Court has ended a long legal fight by ruling that a Texas death row inmate is intellectually disabled and thus may not be executed.

The U.S. Supreme Court kicks off its new term Monday with a case that has potentially sweeping implications for Oregon, and could end the state’s non-unanimous jury system.Read More

Washington State Supreme Court Unanimously Upholds Three Strikes Sentencing Law

By Amy Radil August 16, 2019

Washington State Supreme Court building in Olympia. CREDIT: TONY OVERMAN

The Washington Supreme Court has unanimously upheld the state’s “three strikes” sentencing law, even for people who commit their first strike as young adults. But Justice Mary Yu also described “growing discomfort” with the “routine practice” of issuing mandatory life sentences.Read More

Commission Recommends Major Overhaul Of Washington Sentencing Laws

By Austin Jenkins June 15, 2019

THOMAS HAWK / FLICKR - TINYURL.COM/HA5H3WP

Washington's Sentencing Guidelines Commission, tasked with promoting accountability and equity in sentencing, has adopted a report to the state Legislature that urges lawmakers to consider two options for modernizing the grid with the twin goals of simplifying sentencing and increasing judicial discretion.Read More