In a Moment of Fractious Disunity in the House, Parties Come Together To Advance Bipartisan Sentencing Reform
Washington (November 2, 2023) - Today, despite a period of highly partisan disunity in Congress, the House Judiciary Committee today moved on a bipartisan basis to advance and mark up a bill that would be a major step forward for sentencing reform. If passed, the bill would end the unjust practice of judges increasing sentences based on conduct for which a defendant has been acquitted.
Introduced in September by the bipartisan duo of Congressman Kelly Armstrong (R-ND) and Congressman Steve Cohen (D-TN), the Prohibiting Punishment of Acquitted Conduct Act of 2023 redefines "acquitted conduct" to include acts for which a person was criminally charged and adjudicated not guilty after trial in a Federal, State, Tribal, or Juvenile court, or acts underlying a criminal charge or juvenile information dismissed upon a motion for acquittal, and precludes a court from considering those acts in sentencing unless it’s for the intention of mitigating the sentence.
“Punishing people for conduct for which they have been acquitted has long been an especially egregious practice within our criminal justice system. That an American is innocent unless proven guilty is foundational to our concept of human rights and dignity in this nation, and enhancing or extending a sentence based on something a person has not been convicted of flies in the face of that foundation," said Inimai Chettiar, Deputy Director of Justice Action Network, “Justice Action Network commends the lawmakers on both sides of the aisle who have taken a stand for constitutional rights today, especially sponsors Kelly Armstrong and Steve Cohen.”
Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) also introduced the legislation in the upper Chamber, though the Senate has yet to take action.
In addition to Justice Action Network, the Prohibiting Punishment of Acquitted Conduct Act of 2023 is endorsed by a broad coalition of organizations on both sides of the aisle, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Dream.org, Due Process Institute, Federal Public and Community Defenders, Faith and Freedom Coalition, FAMM, FreedomWorks, The Innocence Project, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, National Legal Aid & Defender Association, Niskanen Center, Prison Fellowship, R Street Institute, The Sentencing Project, and Tzedek Association.