Del. Jackie Addison (D-Baltimore City) wipes away a tear during two hours of emotional debate in the House Saturday on the so-called Second Look Act. (Photo by Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters)
A bill that would let some inmates ask a judge to reduce their jail time after they have served decades cleared a preliminary vote in the House of Delegates Saturday.
The emotionally charged debate over the so-called Second Look Act lasted more than two hours. House Democrats led by Judiciary Committee Chair Luke Clippinger (D-Baltimore City) beat back wave after wave of Republican amendments.
“It’s not easy, but this is what we have to do, I believe, as a country of laws, and it’s a country that believes that people do, in fact, change,” said Clippinger, adding that crafting the bill was not a political exercise.
A limited number of people would likely be eligible under the proposal.
“The individuals that would qualify for this today, looking back retrospectively, deserve a second look,” said Del. N. Scott Phillips (D-Baltimore County).
First, the law would only apply to people who were convicted of a crime they committed between the ages of 18 and 25. It would not be available to anyone who was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, and an eligible inmate could only apply for a hearing before a judge after serving 20 years.
“We came to it soberly, and we came to it thoughtful, and we believe that what is important is to look at that person and say: What have you done to change yourself? What have you done to be a different person today than you were 20 years ago?” Clippinger said.
Clippinger acknowledged that for some who have lost loved ones, there is no amount of time in prison that brings closure.
“Let’s be clear, the victims will absolutely agree it will never be enough because they’ve lost their loved one, because they’ve lost the person they’re closest to, because they are feeling unlimited pain, and they want someone else to feel that pain,” Clippinger said. “And so now we look at our criminal justice system to try to make them completely whole, and the truth is, the uncomfortable truth is, we never, ever can do that.”
An inmate would be able to petition for a petition reduction just three times, and would have to wait at least five years between petitions if they are turned down.
House Minority Leader Jason C. Buckel (R-Allegany), an attorney, said persons convicted of serious crimes have a litany of appeals and motions to reduce sentences. Additionally, those that have sentences that allow for parole can plead their case before a state board.
He called the title of the bill a “misnomer.”
“So, it’s not the Second Look Act,” he said. “It’s the, I don’t know, 14th, 15th Look Act.”
About 350 people would be currently eligible under the bill, Clippinger said.
Republicans offered amendment after amendment to add specific crimes to the list that would be prohibited from seeking a sentence reduction, including the murder of children, pregnant women, homicides related to domestic violence, and crimes involving the deaths of police and parole officers.
Each time, they were easily rebuffed. Each time, Republicans forced a roll call vote that might one day be used as an electoral cudgel in a coming campaign.
The bill — a priority of the Legislative Black Caucus — was one of dozens moved by the House during a rare Saturday session as the legislature approached a milepost Monday. The House and Senate are each racing to send legislation to the opposite chamber. Bills that do not make the Monday deadline have a more difficult time passing both chambers before the end of the 90-day session.
A similar bill, also called the Second Look Act, has been introduced in the Senate, but has not yet moved out of the Judicial Proceedings Committee.