MEDIA ADVISORY: Incarcerated youth from Green Hill School travel to the State Capitol to testify on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in support of sentencing reform.
What: Public hearing on House Bills 1325, 1383 and 1396 regarding incarcerated youth featuring testimony from Green Hill School students
When: Monday, January 15, 1:30 p.m.- 3:30 p.m.
Where: House Hearing Room D, John L. O’Brien Building, 504 15th Ave SW, Olympia, WA 98105
The hearing will be broadcast live on www.TVW.org.
Why: The House Community Safety Justice & Reentry Committee will hear testimony from incarcerated youth at the Green Hill school about house bills creating more paths for incarcerated young people to move towards rehabilitation and reentry.
Recent brain science has established that a person’s brain is not fully developed until the age of 25. Washington State is working to recognize that reality in its sentencing and incarceration practices.
The Green Hill School provides juvenile rehabilitation with educational and vocational training for young men between the ages of 18-25 who have been convicted of serious criminal offenses. During the interim, Rep. Roger Goodman, Chair of the House Community Safety, Justice & Reentry Committee, worked with students at the Green Hill School on bills relating to sentences for people who committed their crime before the age of 25. Some of those students will travel to the Capitol in Olympia to testify on the legislation they have worked on to recognize the latest brain science when sentencing young people to long prison sentences.
“We need to follow the research on brain development – and the holdings of the Washington State Supreme Court – as we work toward a more just criminal legal system for youth,” said Rep. Goodman, D-Kirkland. “The research is clear that our brains are not fully formed until age 25, so we must create a system that appropriately balances this reality with the offenses committed. Hearing these stories, and these bills, are important steps in this vital process.”
The three bills being heard are:
House Bill 1325 would allow incarcerated people serving long sentences for crimes committed before the age of 25 to seek a review of their sentence.
House Bill 1383 would allow people who committed crimes before their 18th birthday to petition for early release.
House Bill 1396 would bring statute into compliance with Washington State Supreme Court rulings related to sentencing for aggravated first degree murder committed prior to the age of 21.
The Committee will then consider moving these bills out of Committee for further consideration. They must pass the Community Safety, Justice and Reentry Committee by January 31 to remain viable.