sentencing reform

A firefighter works on the scene of a deadly pileup involving over two dozen vehicles near Denver in April 2019. Truck driver Rogel Lazaro Aguilera-Mederos was sentenced last week to 110 years in prison for causing the accident.

National

Millions push to reduce a truck driver's 110-year sentence after a deadly accident

4:28pm December 20, 2021

by Rachel Treisman

Rogel Lazaro Aguilera-Mederos was 23 when his semi crashed on a Colorado interstate, causing a fiery pileup that killed four people. More than 4 million people are petitioning to reduce his sentence.

In this July 6, 2020, file photo a sign for the Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Prisons is displayed at the Metropolitan Detention Center in the Brooklyn borough of New York.

Politics & Government

Activists wanted Biden to revamp the justice system. Many say they're still waiting

7:40pm December 12, 2021

by Carrie Johnson

Advocates who want big changes to the criminal justice system are pressing the Biden administration. They want him to grant clemency for a few thousand people and make key personnel decisions.

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President Trump speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House Wednesday as he announces his support for the first major rewrite of the nation's criminal justice sentencing laws in a generation.

Trump Backs Package Of Changes To Criminal Justice System As Lame-Duck Session Begins

10:45pm November 14, 2018

The president's support is a big win for activists who have been pushing for criminal justice measures that roll back the stiff penalties imposed as a part of America's decades-long "war on drugs."

Bipartisan Criminal Justice Overhaul Proposal Expected As Soon As Thursday

9:05pm September 29, 2015

by Carrie Johnson

A group of Democratic and Republican senators is finalizing a bill that would make major changes to the justice system. The idea has support from surprise backers like Koch Industries and the ACLU.

Inmates at California's Chino State Prison exercise in the prison yard in 2010. A proposition that was passed in the state last year reclassified certain crimes, releasing thousands of inmates earlier than had been anticipated.

National

Is It Possible To Let More People Out Of Prison, And Keep Crime Down?

2:42pm July 16, 2015

by Martin Kaste

California is trying to do just that, though police and advocates for ex-offenders are at odds over whether it will work. The debate is playing out as President Obama is calling for nationwide change.

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Obama Shortens Prison Terms For 46 Drug Offenders, Vows More Commutations

7:03pm July 14, 2015

by Carrie Johnson

All of those whose sentences were commuted would have gotten lighter prison terms under new sentencing guidelines. The White House says the they aren't hardened criminals and deserve a second chance.

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National

White House Announces Commutations For 46 Mostly Nonviolent Offenders

3:52pm July 13, 2015

by Krishnadev Calamur

Most were sentenced under drug charges. Nearly all of them would have already served their time if they were convicted of the same crime today.