To make South Carolina sentencing policies fairer and more cost-effective, Hearts for Inmates is advocating for the following:

 

• Reduce mandatory minimums from 85% to 65% for those sentenced under truth-in-sentencing for all individuals including persons sentenced for violent offenses; authorize retroactively. Mississippi lawmakers recently reduced their truth-in-sentencing provision from 85% to 50% for violent offenders.

 

• Allow for “Second Look” review policy for any prisoner who has served 15 or more years. The nonpartisan American Law Institute recommends a fair review of persons sentenced to long prison terms to decide whether, under present circumstances, the sentence originally imposed or a different sentence better serves the purposes of sentencing.

 

• Reestablish good behavior and works credits to address sentence lengths; offer trade skills to incarcerated persons to reduce recidivism and improve public safety.