Bipartisan Experts Praise Sentencing Commission After Unanimous Adoption of New Policy Priorities
Updates to acquitted conduct, supervised release, and data best practices are an encouraging step towards evidence-based sentencing practices
Washington, DC – The United States Sentencing Commission voted unanimously in favor of adopting a wide range of policy updates Thursday afternoon, including a measure that will further prohibit the consideration of acquitted conduct at sentencing unless that consideration is significantly relevant for the purpose of reducing a sentence. The move comes after the Justice Action Network (JAN) urged the commission to restrict the consideration of acquitted conduct, conduct for which an individual was never convicted, in sentencing for other offenses. JAN Federal Affairs Director JC Hendrickson released the following shortly after the vote:
“We are encouraged to see the Sentencing Commission taking evidence-based recommendations seriously. Prohibiting the consideration of acquitted conduct during sentencing is a win for due process protection, ensuring that people will not be punished for charges for which they have not been convicted. Updates to supervised release will meanwhile help people reenter their communities more smoothly, which makes all of us safer, and better data practices will help us understand the ways in which the system is working – or not – so that future updates to guidelines can be more targeted and effective. We are grateful that the commission is taking these steps, and we also appreciate the valuable comments submitted by other criminal justice organizations and experts.”
The nation’s largest bipartisan organization advancing criminal justice policy at both the state and federal levels, JAN submitted public comment to the commission in support of proposed changes to acquitted conduct, supervised release and data best practices earlier this year, and we urged the Commission to consider comments submitted by FAMM, fwd.us, Right on Crime, and other expert organizations.
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