The Sentencing Project

State Voting Rights Briefs – The Sentencing Project Featured Campaign Second Look Network Ending mass incarceration requires taking a second look at extreme sentences. Learn more about our coalition of legal professionals providing direct representation to incarcerated individuals seeking relief from len...

In 2024, four million Americans were banned from voting due to a felony conviction.

We're committed to expanding voting rights in every state & working with state partners to provide specific data on state felony disenfranchisement. bit.ly/3kGns8t

A group of people is gathered, holding signs that say "Kids Can't Wait." The text on the image urges lawmakers to pass Maryland's Youth Charging Reform Act, with a button labeled "Take Action" below. Buildings are visible in the background.

Maryland continues to send more youth, ages 14-17, to adult court – automatically based on the charge – than any other state except Alabama. Nearly 80% of youth charged in adult court in Maryland are Black.

Marylanders, urge your legislators to pass the Youth Charging Reform Act: bit.ly/4kyFl43

An illustration of two individuals embracing. Large text reads "PASS" the SECOND LOOK act," "the EARNED TIME act," and "the MARVIN MAYFIELD act." At the bottom, "COMMUNITIES NOT CAGES" is displayed. A flower is illustrated in the lower right corner.

Decades of mass incarceration have separated families. We need #CommunitiesNotCages to bring our people home where they belong.

If you're in New York State, call your legislators NOW to eliminate mandatory minimums, grant a second look, and support transformation: bit.ly/CNC_action

Testimony in Support of Limiting the Auto-Charging of Youth as Adults in Maryland – The Sentencing Project

Today, we submitted testimony in support of the Youth Charging Reform Act (SB 323 / HB 409):

This legislation would limit Maryland's current harmful practice of automatically charging youth as adults.

#YouthChargingReformNOW #CareNotCages

As a member of the Maryland Youth Justice Coalition, we joined MYJC's Lobby Day in Annapolis on Monday! We met with lawmakers directly, urging them to pass the Youth Charging Reform Act (SB 323 / HB 409) this year.

Today, in a massive show of support, 1,025 organizations, including immigrant justice, human rights, civil rights, faith, and labor organizations, sent a letter to members of Congress to express horror, outrage & deep grief about the recent shooting deaths by federal agents in Minneapolis.

– The Sentencing Project The Sentencing Project is seeking an experienced research consultant to provide part-time research and writing support for 2026.

We're hiring a Research Consultant!

Here are more details: bit.ly/4qEpVgM

Apply or share with your network! Applications are due February 23, 2026!

15,000 people in WA prisons can't vote. A new bill aims to change that Advocates say restricting incarcerated people from voting while they’re completing felony sentences undercuts constitutional values and enables racial injustices.

Advocates behind the Washington bill say restricting incarcerated people from voting while they’re completing their felony sentences undermines the state’s constitutional values and perpetuates racial injustices imbued in the criminal legal system.

If adopted by voters, this landmark ballot measure will eliminate the state’s lifetime felony voting ban, restoring the vote to over 230,000 citizens.

Virginia’s felony disenfranchisement law was enshrined in the state constitution 124 years ago with the explicit intent to disenfranchise Black voters. For decades, advocates and other stakeholders have worked to remove this Jim Crow era stain from Virginia’s constitution.

Virginia takes step to end Jim Crow era voting ban

Virginia lawmakers voted last week to place a measure on the November ballot this year to automatically restore voting rights to people when they exit prison.

Image of Martin Luther King Jr. memorial in Washington, DC featuring a quote "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere" by Martin Luther King Jr., overlaid on a subtle blue background. Logo of The Sentencing Project is visible at the bottom.

Today, we honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy of leadership, service, and equality. #MLKDay

Coalition Letter Urging Congress to Refuse to Fund ICE Without Reforms – The Sentencing Project

The Sentencing Project joined 400+ civil rights groups calling on Congress to rein in Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol through budget negotiations.

Read the coalition letter ⬇️

Join the Maryland Youth Justice Coalition's Youth Justice Lobby Day in Annapolis at St. Anne's Parish. on February 2. The event takes place at 4PM, but doors open at 3:30PM. You can visit bitl.y/MYJCLobbyDay26 to learn more and RSVP. Graphic features an image of people holding signs that say "care not cages" and "end auto-charging now"

MARYLAND EVENT: Join us at the Maryland Youth Justice Coalition's Youth Justice Lobby Day in Annapolis.

📍 Where: St. Anne's Parish: 199 Duke of Gloucester Street

📅 When: February 2, 2026 at 4PM

RSVP: bit.ly/MYJCLobbyDay26

Baltimore youth launch 'We Are More' campaign to change negative narratives Baltimore youth create "We Are More" public art campaign on MTA buses and shelters to challenge negative stereotypes and share positive stories.

A group of Baltimore City youth have created art displayed throughout the city as a way to be a voice for their peers that challenges negative stereotypes and shares positive stories about the city's youth.

Research on the incarceration of women is critical to understanding the full consequences of mass incarceration & to unraveling the policies and practices that lead to their criminalization. The female incarcerated population stands over seven times as high than in 1980.

Learn more: bit.ly/3YkWnHn

Youth Justice Research Fellow – The Sentencing Project Featured Campaign Second Look Network Ending mass incarceration requires taking a second look at extreme sentences. Learn more about our coalition of legal professionals providing direct representation to incarcerated individuals seeking relief from len...

Interested in joining The Sentencing Project as a Spring Youth Justice Research Fellow?

Check out the description and apply by January 10, 2026!

bit.ly/3MvIXXz

Our newest resource focuses on the automatic charging of youth in adult courts.

Twenty-eight states and the District of Columbia have automatic charging provisions.

We know from decades of adolescent research that charging youth as adults harms youth wellbeing and community safety.

Private Prisons in the United States – The Sentencing Project Twenty-seven states and the federal government incarcerated 90,873 people in private prisons in 2022, representing 8% of the total state and federal prison population.

Private for-profit prisons incarcerated 90,873 people in 2022, representing 8% of the total state and federal prison population.

Since 2000, the number of people housed in private prisons has increased 5%.

Read our fact sheet: bit.ly/45mPTuh

An infographic by The Sentencing Project showing a silhouette of a person behind bars with the text, "1 in 6 people in prison is serving a life sentence," along with the hashtag "#EndLifeImprisonment.

The United States makes up roughly 4% of the world population but holds an estimated 40% of the world’s life-sentenced population.

Learn more: bit.ly/4gMO5kk

Youth Justice Research Fellow – The Sentencing Project

Interested in joining The Sentencing Project as a Spring Youth Justice Research Fellow?

Check out the description and apply by January 10, 2026!

bit.ly/3MvIXXz

Image of young man holding a basketball, wearing a backpack and text that reads "racial and ethnic disparities in youth incarceration: Black, Latino and Tribal Fact Sheets."

Our fact sheets reveal a disturbing resurgence in youth incarceration and widening racial disparities as of 2023. Research shows that over-incarcerating our youth won’t deter crime—it only deepens cycles of trauma & inequality, harming families and communities.

Read: bit.ly/4rU3ZiS

Out of Step: U.S. Policy on Voting Rights in Global Perspective – The Sentencing Project The United States is out of step with the rest of the world in disenfranchising large numbers of citizens based on criminal convictions.

While many U.S. states have scaled back their disenfranchisement provisions, a trend that has accelerated since 2017, the United States still lags behind most of the world in protecting the right to vote for people with criminal convictions. bit.ly/3XXcVGr

Image of The Sentencing Project's Kara Gotsch on NOTUS Perspectives. Features the text: "Name and describe one state or local policy that should be tried across the country." Kara Gotsch's quote: "Delaware and other states: Review of prison sentences after a person has served many years."

"States should take the first step in undoing the harms of mass incarceration by passing “second look” laws that allow judges to review sentences after a person has served a lengthy period of time," writes Kara Gotsch for @notusperspectives.bsky.social https://bit.ly/4aLzpSh

Automatically Charging Youth as Adults – The Sentencing Project Automatic charging or "auto-charging" is one of several pathways that send people under 18 years old into the adult criminal legal system.

Our newest resource focuses on the automatic charging of youth in adult courts.

Twenty-eight states and the District of Columbia have automatic charging provisions.

We know from decades of adolescent research that charging youth as adults harms youth wellbeing and community safety.

Nicole Porter: The US is ‘by far the world’s number one jailer’ “There really isn't an issue with mass incarceration in other countries,” Nicole Porter of The Sentencing Project tells us. “The United States by far is the world's number one jailer.”

“There really isn’t an issue with mass incarceration in other countries,” Nicole Porter of @sentencingproject.bsky.social tells us. “The United States by far is the world’s number one jailer.”

Despite crime levels hitting historic lows, 39 states across the country increased their prison populations in 2023 — a stark reversal from 13 years of slow decarceration. @sentencingproject.bsky.social provides analysis into this new trend and recommendations for decarceration: tinyurl.com/2vt885kn

Youth Justice by the Numbers – The Sentencing Project Between 2000 and 2023, there has been a 75% decline in youth incarceration. However, racial and ethnic disparities persist.

Between 2000 and 2023, youth incarceration fell by almost 75%. However, racial and ethnic disparities in youth incarceration and sentencing persist amidst overall declines in youth arrests and incarceration.

Incarcerated Women and Girls – The Sentencing Project The number of incarcerated women stands over six times higher than in 1980.

Research on female incarceration is critical to understanding the full consequences of mass incarceration and to unraveling the policies and practices that lead to their criminalization.

The female incarcerated population stands over seven times as high than in 1980.