Second Look Laws and Disability-Inclusive Sentence Review

Author: The Sentencing Project
Published: 21 Sep 2026
Publication Type: Announcement

Table of Contents:
Synopsis - Definition - Overview - FAQs - Insights, Updates - Related Content

Synopsis

This report examines The Sentencing Project's policy brief Aligning Safety with Justice: The Case for a Disability-Inclusive Sentence Review Statute. The brief finds that 15 states, the District of Columbia, and the federal government have adopted second look sentencing policies, but none of these laws address the particular hardships faced by people with disabilities who are serving extreme sentences. It proposes a model statute that would let courts revisit those sentences. Second Look Network Director Sara Cohbra stresses that the review would not guarantee release. Instead, it would allow judges to weigh a person's disability together with their conduct, rehabilitation, and readiness to rejoin the community. The findings matter to incarcerated people with disabilities and their families, defense lawyers, disability advocates, and state and federal lawmakers. They point to a clear gap in a fast-growing reform movement and offer practical statutory language that legislators can adapt, which makes the brief a useful reference for anyone following criminal justice reform from a disability rights perspective.*

At a Glance

• 1 - People with disabilities do not commit crimes at higher rates than others, yet they face disproportionate rates of arrest and conviction.
• 2 - The Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 already require accommodations, yet many prisons still fail to support people with disabilities adequately.
• 3 - The brief calls for mandatory disability training for law enforcement, judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys so disability is recognized and accommodated throughout the legal process.
• 4 - The model statute would apply when disability shaped the offense, behavior around arrest, access to due process, prison struggles such as discipline or newly acquired disabilities, or reentry planning.

Topic Definition

Second Look Sentencing

Second look sentencing is a form of judicial sentence review that allows a court to reconsider a lengthy prison term after a person has served a substantial portion of it, often a decade or more depending on the jurisdiction. The review does not reopen questions of guilt. It asks whether the original sentence still serves the interests of justice and public safety, weighing factors such as the person's age at the time of the offense, rehabilitation, conduct in custody, and readiness for release. A judge may reduce the sentence, order release, or leave the sentence unchanged. A disability-inclusive second look adds consideration of how a person's physical, intellectual, psychiatric, or sensory disability may have influenced the offense, the fairness of the court proceedings, their experience in prison, and their prospects for successful reentry.

Overview

Second Look Laws Must Stop Leaving People with Disabilities Behind

New model statute would give people with disabilities serving extreme sentences an opportunity for judicial review.

As a growing number of jurisdictions embrace second-look sentencing review, The Sentencing Project has called for states and the federal government to include a disability statute in second look laws. The Sentencing Project's policy brief, Aligning Safety with Justice: The Case for a Disability-Inclusive Sentence Review Statute, noted that 15 states, the District of Columbia, and the federal government have enacted second look policies, but none address the specific hardships people with disabilities face.

A person's disabilities can affect their behavior, communication, and functioning in ways that may be misunderstood or penalized by law enforcement. These misunderstandings can contribute to disproportionate rates of arrest and conviction for people with disabilities, even though people with disabilities do not commit crimes at higher rates than people without disabilities.

"People with disabilities are among those most affected by our criminal legal system, yet they have been largely left out of the movement to reconsider extreme sentences," said Sara Cohbra, Second Look Network Director at The Sentencing Project. "A disability second look is not an automatic pathway to release. It gives courts an opportunity to consider a person's disability alongside their conduct, rehabilitation, and readiness to return to the community."

Federal law, including the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, already prohibits disability discrimination and requires accommodations in the criminal legal system. However, research shows that many prisons and rehabilitation programs do not support people with disabilities adequately. This is a systemic issue for which individual people face life-long consequences.

The proposed model statute would make second look available for people whose disabilities contributed to:

(1) the nature of the offense.

(2) their behavior and/or misperceptions of their behavior before, during, and after their arrests.

(3) their inability to fully access their due process rights during representation by counsel and courtroom legal proceedings.

(4) their struggle while incarcerated, including being disciplined for infractions, being excluded from prison programming, or acquiring additional disabilities.

(5) obstacles to their developing reentry plans.

Beyond model statutes, the study also notes that adequate disability training must accompany second look laws. The Sentencing Project calls for mandatory training for law enforcement, judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys so that disability is properly recognized and accommodated throughout the criminal legal process.

About The Sentencing Project

The Sentencing Project advocates for effective and humane responses to crime that minimize imprisonment and criminalization of youth and adults by promoting racial, ethnic, economic, and gender justice.

Frequently Asked Questions

NOTE: Researched FAQs by Disabled World (DW)

What is the difference between a second look law and parole?

Parole is usually decided by an administrative board applying fixed eligibility rules, while a second look law lets a judge revisit the sentence itself and decide whether it should be reduced based on factors such as rehabilitation, age, and changed circumstances.

How is a disability second look different from compassionate release?

Compassionate release generally focuses on serious illness, terminal conditions, or advanced age at the time of the request, whereas a disability second look would consider how a disability affected the offense, the court process, time in prison, and reentry planning, even if the person is not seriously ill.

How common are disabilities among people in prison?

Federal survey data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics have found that people in state and federal prisons report disabilities at much higher rates than the general population, with cognitive disabilities being the most frequently reported type.

What accommodations are prisons required to provide under the ADA?

Prisons must provide reasonable accommodations and equal access to programs and services, which can include sign language interpreters, accessible cells and bathrooms, mobility aids, materials in accessible formats, and adjustments to rules or procedures when a disability requires it.

What records can help show a disability in a sentence review?

Useful documentation can include medical and psychiatric records, school records such as special education or IEP files, neuropsychological evaluations, prison health records, and testimony from qualified experts who can explain how the disability affects behavior and understanding.

Who can ask a court for a second look sentence review?

It depends on the law in each jurisdiction, but most second look statutes allow the incarcerated person or their attorney to file a petition once they meet eligibility requirements, and some also allow prosecutors to initiate a review.

Why might police misread the behavior of a person with a disability?

Traits linked to conditions such as autism, deafness, intellectual disability, or mental illness, including limited eye contact, delayed responses, or not following verbal commands, can be mistaken for defiance, guilt, or intoxication during a stressful encounter.

How can people support disability-inclusive sentencing reform?

People can contact state and federal lawmakers about second look legislation, support disability rights and criminal justice reform organizations, share credible research, and encourage local courts and police agencies to adopt disability training.

Insights, Analysis, and Developments

Editorial Note: Disability often goes unrecognized at every stage of a criminal case, from the first encounter with police to a parole hearing years later. The consequences tend to compound over time as missed accommodations, misread behavior, and exclusion from programs follow a person through their sentence. The proposal is notable for its scope. Rather than treating disability as a narrow medical question, it recognizes that disability can shape how an offense happens, how a defendant takes part in their own defense, how prison discipline is applied, and whether a workable reentry plan is possible at all. Existing civil rights protections have not closed these gaps on their own. Pairing a dedicated review pathway with mandatory training for everyone from arresting officers to judges may prove more effective than either step alone. For lawmakers already considering second look legislation, the brief offers a timely chance to build disability inclusion in from the start rather than adding it later. For families and advocates, it provides a concrete framework for arguing that justice requires seeing the whole person behind a sentence.*

Attribution/Source(s): This quality-reviewed publication was selected for publishing by the editors of Disabled World (DW) due to its relevance to the disability community. Originally authored by The Sentencing Project and published on 21 Sep 2026, this content may have been edited for style, clarity, or brevity.

* Editorial additions by Ian C. Langtree.