The Sentencing Project is a Washington, D.C.-based research and advocacy center working for
decarceration in the United States and seeking to address
racial disparities in the
criminal justice system. The organization produces
nonpartisan
Nonpartisanism is a lack of affiliation with, and a lack of bias towards, a political party.
While an Oxford English Dictionary definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., in most cases, nonpartisan refers sp ...
reports and research for use by state and federal policymakers, administrators, and journalists.
History
The Sentencing Project grew out of pilot programs established by lawyer Malcolm C. Young in the early 1980s. In 1981, Young became director of a project of the
National Legal Aid & Defender Association
The National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA) is the oldest and largest national, nonprofit membership organization devoted to advocating equal justice for all Americans and was established in 1911.
History
The Fourteenth Amendment ...
(NLADA) designed to establish defense-based sentencing advocacy programs. In 1986, Young incorporated The Sentencing Project as an independent organization to continue NLADA's program of training and development work. In the late 1980s, The Sentencing Project became engaged in research and public education on a broad range of criminal justice policy issues, and is primarily known for its work in these areas today.
Advocacy
The Sentencing Project works with other organizations and public officials to influence criminal justice policies at the federal, state, and local level. The Sentencing Project was part of a national coalition supporting the bipartisan
Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act in the
114th Congress
The 114th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States of America federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from Ja ...
. The organization's executive director testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in support of the legislation.
In 2010, The Sentencing Project contributed to the passage of the
Fair Sentencing Act
The Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 () was an Act of Congress that was signed into federal law by United States President Barack Obama on August 3, 2010 that reduces the disparity between the amount of crack cocaine and powder cocaine needed to tri ...
, which reduced the disparities in sentences associated with convictions for possessing or trafficking in
crack cocaine
Crack cocaine, commonly known simply as crack, and also known as rock, is a free base form of the stimulant cocaine that can be smoked. Crack offers a short, intense high to smokers. The ''Manual of Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment'' calls ...
compared to powder cocaine. Representatives of the organization have often testified before Congress, the U.S. Sentencing Commission, the
U.S. Commission on Civil Rights
The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (CCR) is a bipartisan, independent commission of the United States federal government, created by the Civil Rights Act of 1957 during the Eisenhower administration, that is charged with the responsibility fo ...
, and other government and scholarly meetings.
Senate Minority Leader Richard Durbin (D-IL), a leader of the bipartisan congressional reform effort, said of The Sentencing Project: "They bring to our attention those specific cases that we can use to dramatize the need to get this done. I can't say enough for their research work."
Research
As it celebrated its 30th
anniversary
An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded in a previous year, and may also refer to the commemoration or celebration of that event. The word was first used for Catholic feasts to commemorate saints ...
in 2016, The Sentencing Project was active in the national debate about racial and ethnic disparities in arrests, sentencing and incarceration, and has monitored and reported on the denial of
voting rights to individuals with felony convictions. It consistently criticizes what it considers the ineffectiveness and excessive public expense associated with mass incarceration and extended prison terms.
In 2016, the organization produced a state-by-state breakdown on the
disenfranchisement of citizens convicted of
felonies entitled ''Six Million Lost Voters''. It documented 6.1 million potential voters, including more than 4 million who had long since completed their sentences, unable to participate because of state laws disenfranchising them.
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
, a perennial swing state, led the country with 1.5 million people convicted of felonies who could not vote.
In recent years, The Sentencing Project has published reports and research on
mandatory minimum sentences and their impact on
judicial discretion Judicial discretion is the power of the judiciary to make some legal decisions according to their discretion. Under the doctrine of the separation of powers, the ability of judges to exercise discretion is an aspect of judicial independence. Where ...
; the increased reliance in the courts on
life sentences, often without opportunities for
parole
Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...
; prison closures and repurposing; the impact of racial perceptions in criminal justice policy; the
war on drugs
The war on drugs is a Globalization, global campaign, led by the United States federal government, of prohibition of drugs, drug prohibition, military aid, and military intervention, with the aim of reducing the illegal drug trade in the Unite ...
and its collateral consequences;
juvenile justice issues;
women in prison; the children of prisoners and the long-term social impact of mass incarceration policies.
Leadership
Marc Mauer
Marc Mauer is the executive director of the Sentencing Project, a group that advocates for criminal justice reform and addressing racial disparities in the United States criminal-justice system.
Education
Mauer received his bachelor's degree from ...
has been the executive director of The Sentencing Project since 2005. He has authored a number of books, articles, and studies about the criminal justice system.
University of Pittsburgh School of Law professor David Harris called Mauer "the go-to guy for any major media organization or any legislative body that wants the truth on what's been happening with our prisons and our jails ... His testimony to the
Senate Judiciary Committee in October 2015 ... should be required reading for every public official in this country."
The Sentencing Project is governed by a 10-member board of lawyers, academics, and practitioners, chaired by
American University
The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...
law professor
Cynthia E. Jones.
Cynthia Jones
See also
* Felony disenfranchisement in the United States
Felony disenfranchisement in the United States is the suspension or withdrawal of voting rights due to the conviction of a criminal offense. The actual class of crimes that results in disenfranchisement vary between jurisdictions, but most commonly ...
References
External links
Official website
Project
A project is any undertaking, carried out individually or collaboratively and possibly involving research or design, that is carefully planned to achieve a particular goal.
An alternative view sees a project managerially as a sequence of even ...
501(c)(3) organizations
Non-profit organizations based in Washington, D.C.
Political advocacy groups in the United States
Criminal justice reform in the United States
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