At CCJ’s Task Force on Long Sentences’ seventh meeting (August 13, 2022), members reviewed the statutory and discretionary “back end” laws, policies, and practices that determine the time individuals who receive long sentences actually serve before release.
Members heard from Professor Kevin Reitz (University of Minnesota Law School), who presented key findings from a recently released report from the University of Minnesota Robina Institute of Criminal Law and Criminal Justice. Reitz co-authored “American Prison-Release Systems: Indeterminacy in Sentencing and the Control of Prison Population Size.” Following Reitz’s presentation, Task Force Director John Maki provided a brief overview of mechanisms that the nation’s prison systems use to release individuals who have served long sentences.