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Youth Hope Act receives broad testimony; bill would let some people petition ISRB at 24 and cap petitions
Summary
Senate Bill 5266 (Youth Hope Act) would permit some people who committed crimes as juveniles to petition the Indeterminate Sentence Review Board (ISRB) at age 24 rather than wait 20 years, impose a cap of 70 petitions per year through 2035 with prioritization for those under 25 and in DCYF custody, and authorize rental vouchers and data collection on recidivism.
Senate Bill 5266, the Youth Hope Act, drew a lengthy hearing in which lawmakers heard both support and concern from formerly incarcerated people, residents of juvenile rehabilitation (JR) facilities, advocates, judges, prosecutors and victim advocates.
For the record, Kelsey Ann Fung, committee staff, briefed the panel that the Indeterminate Sentence Review Board (ISRB) currently has jurisdiction over individuals sentenced for crimes committed before age 18 who received terms of confinement longer than 20 years; petitioners may now ask ISRB for early release after serving no less than 20 years. SB 5266 would change eligibility so that a person may petition ISRB at age 24 provided the person has not been convicted of a crime in the 12 months before filing and has not committed a disqualifying serious infraction in the 12 months before filing. The bill leaves unchanged the exclusion for people serving certain offenses, including first-degree aggravated murder and other specified crimes.
The bill would also allow the Department of Corrections (DOC) to provide rental vouchers to successful petitioners where rental…
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