Law360 speaks with Tama Kudman and Mitchell Epner about states enacting Second Look
sentencing modification laws that enable judges to shorten the sentence of people in prison who show rehabilitation.
Tama noted that “[t]he modification of that person’s sentence does not erase the harm they caused or reduce its significance, and their rehabilitation and ability to benefit society give meaning
to the crime.”
Mitchell explains that to craft a successful Second Look application, attorneys for the prisoner should create a narrative that shows the judge that the prisoner has transformed over the course of incarceration, so that he is no longer the same person who the judge originally sentenced.
Tama added that the applicant should demonstrate insight as to why they committed the crime at issue and the transformation they have made as a human being that would preclude recidivism.
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