Prosecutors should be able to review old cases that no longer align with the best practices in our criminal justice system.
As the criminal justice system evolves, prosecutors need tools to revisit old cases where punishments no longer fit best practices or serve the public’s interest.People often evolve over decades, and so has society’s understanding of what constitutes a just sentence. Too often, however, our criminal justice system works like an assembly line, with the prosecutor who sent a person to prison unable to re-examine the case many years later.
Texas lawmakers are considering a proposal to align the criminal justice system with current practices and account for changes that have occurred over time. Prosecutor-Initiated Resentencing, or PIR, is a tool that would allow Texas prosecutors to look back and review certain cases in the interest of justice. In doing so, they would be carrying out their role as protectors of public safety and ministers of justice.
What constitutes an appropriate case? Consider, for instance, an elderly person whose physical condition and prison record indicate he or she is not a threat to public safety, or perhaps a person sentenced in their youth and completed many rehabilitative programs over decades behind bars. Another case worthy of reconsideration might involve a person whose sentence is based on an outdated, or even repealed, law.
Prosecutors should only consider invoking PIR if they determine a sentence is disproportionate based on current law and practice, as well as new knowledge regarding the facts of the case. For example, women have been identified in Texas prisons who were, which was not known or taken into account at the time of their sentencing.
Even if the threshold of an unjust sentence is met, however, the risk to public safety must be considered. Age is one key factor in this analysis.
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