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Family Members, Lawmakers Rally for Sentencing Reform in Albany

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On Tuesday, a dozen lawmakers, families with incarcerated loved ones, formerly incarcerated people, and over 500 New Yorkers rallied at the State Capitol to call for the passage of three sentencing reforms – the Second Look Act, Earned Time Act, and Marvin Mayfield Act – during the 2025 legislative session.

Organizers of the rally said there is growing momentum for this legislation, including recent support from New York’s Chief Judge and Chief Administrative Judge, as well as the former prison Commissioner of the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS). They added Governor Kathy Hochul also acknowledged the importance of earned time in her Executive Budget and its role in successful reentry.

This legislation has broad support, including from judges, prison administrators, the American Bar Association, dozens of labor unions, business, and over 200 civil rights, legal, and community organizations. These bills are also broadly popular with New Yorkers. Recent polling by EMC Research found that 74% of New Yorkers support the Earned Time Act and 68% of New Yorkers support the Second Look Act.

The Second Look Act would allow judges to review and reconsider excessive sentences. Under current sentencing laws, incarcerated people have no opportunity to demonstrate to a judge that they have transformed while incarcerated or to seek a reconsideration of their sentences based on changes in law and norms. The Earned Time Act would strengthen and expand “good time” and “merit time” laws to increase the ability of incarcerated people to earn time off their sentences, supporting rehabilitative efforts in state prisons. The Marvin Mayfield Act would eliminate mandatory minimum sentences, allowing judges to consider the individual factors and mitigating circumstances in a case and addressing the outsize power of prosecutors to coerce plea deals.

“An effective justice system requires flexibility, accountability, and a focus on outcomes that strengthen communities,” said Assembly Member Anna Kelles, who represents Tompkins and Cortland counties and is a sponsor of the Earned Time Act. “But mandatory minimums and rigid sentencing structures limit the ability to assess cases individually and consider factors like mental health and rehabilitation efforts as fundamental strategies to reduce crime. The Marvin Mayfield Act, Second Look Act, and Earned Time Act create a system that allows for individualized assessments, incentivizes participation in education and vocational programs, removes unnecessary barriers to reentry, and increases healthy community reengagement. The Earned Time Act expands merit-based sentence reductions, reinforcing the link between rehabilitation, release, and reintegration. Together these three reforms would foster the adaptable, and evidence-based justice system we need to build the safe communities we all want.”

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