118 HR 4724 IH: Sara’s Law and the Preventing Unfair Sentencing Act of 2023 U.S. House of Representatives 2023-07-18 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

I118th CONGRESS1st SessionH. R. 4724IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESJuly 18, 2023Mr. Westerman (for himself, Mr. Cárdenas, Mr. Trone, and Ms. Kamlager-Dove) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the JudiciaryA BILLTo authorize the court to depart from a statutory minimum in the case of a juvenile offender, youthful victim offender, and certain other minors, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Sara’s Law and the Preventing Unfair Sentencing Act of 2023.

2.

Sentencing youthful victim offenders who have been trafficked, abused, or assaulted

(a)

Sentencing youthful victim offenders

(1)

In general

Section 3553 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: (h)

Sentencing youthful victim offenders

(1)

Statutory minimums

In the case of a youthful victim offender, the court shall have the authority to impose a sentence that is below a level established by statute as a minimum sentence so as to consider the effect of trauma on the offender’s conduct. (2)

Suspension of sentence

In the case of a youthful victim offender, the court shall have the authority to suspend any portion of an imposed sentence. (3)

Youthful victim offender defined

In this subsection, the term youthful victim offender means an individual who— (A)has not attained the age of 18; and (B)has been convicted of a violent offense against a person who the court finds, by clear and convincing evidence, engaged in conduct against such individual, not earlier than 1 year before such violent offense, that is an offense under section 1591 or an offense under chapter 71, 109A, 110, or 117.. (2)

Application

The amendments made by this section shall apply only to a conviction entered on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. (b)

Directive to sentencing commission

Pursuant to its authority under section 994(p) of title 28, United States Code, and in accordance with this section, the United States Sentencing Commission shall review and amend, if appropriate, its guidelines and its policy statements with respect to youthful victim offenders (as such term is defined in section 3553 of title 18, United States Code) to ensure that the guidelines and policy statements are consistent with the amendments made by subsection (a).