Victims’ advocate urges prosecutor gatekeeper and victim notice if Legislature reopens H.379 ‘second look’ sentencing

Jennifer Pullman, director of the Center for Crime Victim Services, urged the House Corrections & Institutions Committee on April 1 to ensure that any legislation reopening sentence reconsideration under H.379 include prosecutors as gatekeepers and explicit roles for victims and survivors.

Pullman told the committee she had reviewed the bill’s language and the Sentencing Commission report and that “there’s not this one‑size‑fits‑all approach when we’re talking about criminal justice reform.” She said Vermont’s Sentencing Commission has discussed these issues for years and that the bill’s findings and intent deserve scrutiny.

Pullman said victims feel the system already offers multiple “exit ramps” for revisiting sentences and told the committee prosecutors have identified “at least seven different exit ramps that currently exist in our…