Rhode Island
State lawmakers field bills to empower judges to rethink long sentences
PROVIDENCE – State lawmakers are once again weighing a proposal that would allow people serving long sentences to ask a judge for a “second look” at their punishment after 10 years.
Matching legislation has been submitted in the House and Senate that would give judges the latitude to reduce a person’s sentence after they’ve served 10 years, taking into consideration factors such as their age at the time of the crime, current age and rehabilitation efforts.
Sen. Meghan E. Kallman, D-Pawtucket, emphasized to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary hearing last week that the measure is not a get-out-of-jail-free card. It would be up to the individual to provide evidence of his or her rehabilitation and other strides.
“It creates the mechanism for the conversation … The judge is still running the show,” Kallman told the committee.
Kallman noted that the cost of incarcerating an individual is more than $84,000 annually, meaning that the state would spend $4.2 million to hold someone from age 20 to 40.
“I do not need to tell you how expensive that is,” Kallman said.
Rep. Julie A. Casimiro, D-North Kingstown, is the lead sponsor of the House version.
RI judge calls for the power to review long sentences
It is the second year state lawmakers have fielded the proposal after state Superior Court Judge Daniel A. Procaccini last year called on the General Assembly to empower judges to take a “second look” at cases involving offenders who committed crimes when they were young.
Procaccini’s call came in the case of Gahlil Oliveira, who at 23 was one of five men charged in the shooting death of John Carpenter on Dec. 18, 1995 in Providence. The murder of 26-year-old Carpenter, the son of then-state Rep. Marsha E. Carpenter, was believed to be in retaliation for the killing of a friend three days earlier.
Now 52, Oliveira sought to reduce his sentence of life in prison, plus a consecutive 40 years. But Procaccini concluded that he had no legal avenue to grant relief as court rules specify that a person must petition for a reduction within 120 days of their sentence being imposed.
400% jump in prison population, revictimization concerns
The legislation stresses that the number of people imprisoned in Rhode Island had increased more than 400% from 1980 to 2020, and that long-term incarceration disproportionately impacts poor communities and those of color, at great societal cost.
Evidence has shown, too, Kallman said, that older people are unlikely to reoffend and that extreme sentences do not deter crime.
Sen. Matthew LaMountain, D-Warwick, expressed discomfort that, if enacted, people could petition for a sentence-reduction hearing every two to five years, raising concerns about the impact on victims.
“I think we’re sending a troubling message to society … that you can take somebody’s life and be out on the street in 10 years,” LaMountain, a former state prosecutor, said.
Alexandra Bailey, of the Sentencing Project, spoke in favor of the measure, stating that the victims would have the opportunity to weigh in and that it would result in substantial savings for the state to reduce its elderly prison population.
A judge, she said, would not be obligated to hear a person’s petition.
The state Public Defender’s office expressed strong support, but voiced caution about whether it would have the manpower to handle people’s petitions given the high caseloads its lawyers are already facing.
The state affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union also spoke in favor of the legislation.
Steven Parkhurst, who served 27 years in state prison after fatally shooting a man in 1992, at age 17, wrote in support of the bills, noting that he had grown up with many of the men the legislation would impact.
“They did the same hard work to become better people than the bad decisions we made as kids and young adults,” Parkhurst said.
“Everybody deserves a chance at redemption,” David Veliz, director of the Rhode Island Interfaith Coalition, said. “We cannot close the door entirely on hope.”
Pushback from state prosecutors
Though Attorney General Peter F. Neronha did not testify at the Senate hearing, he voiced objections last year.
“If enacted, this legislation would deprive victims and the criminal justice system of any modicum of closure, when again there are already adequate and appropriate avenues for relief available to incarcerated individuals,” he wrote.
The office, he said, would be required to divert significant resources to old, previously resolved cases, instead of the thousands of new cases charged each year.
Savings would be reinvested
Under the proposal, 25% of any savings in incarceration costs would be dedicated to fund prison-based and community-based programs designed to counter recidivism. Ten percent would be designated to the attorney general and public defender’s office to provide representation. An estimate of possible savings was not immediately available.
While the state judiciary did not take a position on the legislation, Edward J. Cooney Jr., the assistant administrator management & finance, said in a memo that it would require the creation of four full-time positions, including a judge. A new list of court-appointed lawyers would also need to be established, with total costs estimated at $1.6 million annually.
National movement afoot
Rhode Island’s second look legislation is in keeping with national trends toward extending possible relief to people serving lengthy sentences. The Model Penal Code, standardized laws used to assist legislatures, recommends that judges have the ability to review sentences after 15 years of imprisonment for adult crimes, and after 10 years for youth crimes. The American Bar Association also calls for “second look” resentencing hearings after people have been held for 10 years.
The bills are modeled on sample legislation by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
A handful of states have enacted measures to allow sentences to be reconsidered, but typically after an individual has served 20 years. Many more states are now considering bills that would allow for sentencing reconsideration under varying mechanisms.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WJAR) — Health professionals are warning Rhode Islanders to look out for a fast-moving threat in the brush this summer: the Lone star tick.
NBC 10’s Martha Konstandinidis went out to see the increase in ticks firsthand and has some simple steps to protect your family.
(WJAR) — The Rhode Island House has passed a Bill that offers a rare alternative when considering end-of-life options: water cremation and human composting.
These processes are actually considered better for the environment.
Instead of being rooted in flames during cremation, remains are placed in water and no greenhouse gases are released.
Tom Harries, CEO of Earth Funeral – Green Funeral Home, explains the natural organic reduction also known as human composting, process while standing in front of an actual vessel in the warehouse during a tour at their new location, which will open in Elkridge. Eventually it will house 126 vessels. Jeffrey F. Bill/Baltimore Sun)
Last year NBC 10 was able to get a first-hand look into how it works.
The John F. Tierney Funeral Home in Connecticut became one of the first in Southern New England to offer water cremation or “Aquamation” for humans.
Remains are placed into a machine, and water begins to circulate, leaving bone material behind.
Human composting uses fertile soil to break down remains.
Lawmakers on both sides spoke before the vote.
It passed 47-17.
BE THE FIRST TO COMMENT
It now heads to the Senate.
(WJAR) — Rhode Island mayors are spending taxpayer dollars on out-of-state travel, attending conferences, summits, and networking events across the country while away from the cities they were elected to lead.
Public records obtained by the NBC 10 I-Team shows the mayors of Providence, Pawtucket, and Central Falls used public funds for out-of-state travel between March 2025 and March 2026. The mayors of Cranston, East Providence, and North Providence traveled out of state during that period but reported spending no taxpayer money on those trips.
Pawtucket Mayor Don Grebien spent $5,061.60 tied to 20 days of out-of-state travel, including $2,676.39 in city funds.
Grebien’s trips included the AGRIP Conference with the Rhode Island Interlocal Trust, Rhode Island Day in Washington, a Business Leaders Day conference hosted by U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, a Veterans Honor Flight, and a medical mission to Cape Verde with Project Health.
Pawtucket Mayor Don Grebien spoke about his travel. (WJAR)
“I try to use the least amount of city dollars, use some campaign, and then put some of the private as well,” Grebien said. “I do understand the perception, and that’s why I’m very, very careful.”
Asked how much time at conferences is spent working versus networking, Grebien said, “It’s probably honestly 60-40, 60% work and 40% off time by the time you get everything going.”
Several Rhode Island mayors attended Rhode Island Day in Washington alongside the state’s congressional delegation, despite lawmakers regularly returning to Rhode Island.
Grebien defended the trips as an opportunity to meet federal officials and pursue funding opportunities for the city.
“We are able on those days to go down and meet with department heads, so we have a lot of grants that we are in front of — HUD, the National Park Service — so it gives us that opportunity while we are there to do that,” he said.
Pawtucket Mayor Don Grebien spent $5,061.60 tied to 20 days of out-of-state travel, including $2,676.39 in city funds. (WJAR)
Providence Mayor Brett Smiley spent more than 30 days out of state during the one-year period, according to records.
“Most of my travel is with the U.S. Conference of Mayors, which is hugely valuable,” Smiley said.
Invoices show Smiley attended five conferences or summits across the country, more than any other Rhode Island mayor.
Those trips included the U.S. Conference of Mayors Summer Annual Meeting in Tampa, Florida; the U.S. Conference of Mayors Fall Leadership Meeting in Oklahoma less than three months later; the North American Mayors Summit Against Antisemitism in New Orleans; the International LGBTQ+ Leaders Conference in Washington; and the U.S. Conference of Mayors Winter Annual Meeting.
Records also show Smiley traveled to Israel with the Rhode Island Jewish Alliance and took a personal trip to Portugal.
Rhode Island mayors are spending taxpayer dollars on out-of-state travel, attending conferences, summits, and networking events across the country while away from the cities they were elected to lead.
The city spent $1,793.75 on conference registration fees for two of Smiley’s trips.
While Smiley was in Providence during the Brown University shooting, he had been traveling the week before. When asked what would happen if a trip coincided with a city emergency, Smiley said he remains accessible.
“My travel is almost entirely domestic, and I have ready access to get home quickly,” Smiley said. “I was not prevented from doing my job at any point last year or this year either.”
The investigation found Central Falls Mayor Maria Rivera spent the most taxpayer money on travel during the period reviewed.
Rivera spent $3,302.23 on 17 days of out-of-state travel. That total included $717 from the police department budget for a joint trip with the city’s police chief.
Rivera traveled to Washington for the Yale Mayor’s College and CEO Caucus and Rhode Island Day, to Atlanta for the Purpose-Built Communities Conference, to Puerto Rico for the Northeast Leadership Conference hosted by the Boys & Girls Club of Rhode Island, and to Chicago for meetings with the U.S. Conference of Mayors and police chiefs.
Rivera said the trips are necessary to build relationships and secure funding opportunities for Central Falls.
“Not every community has a $22 million budget, right? A lot of these communities have more funding,” Rivera said.
Central Falls City Hall. (WJAR)
Rivera pointed to a connection she made during a trip to Chicago that later resulted in funding for the city.
“This was a relationship I built when I went on one of these trips and I was able to get $25,000 for our summer food service program for this year,” she said.
When asked why she does not personally pay for conference travel, Rivera said the costs are difficult to cover privately.
“I wish I could pay for these trips out of my pocket, but it’s really hard,” Rivera said. “I am very careful. We get requests all the time. I don’t go to all these trips.”
Rivera was also the only mayor interviewed who said she canceled travel plans because of a city emergency, including a February 2026 trip to Washington that coincided with a blizzard.
Cranston Mayor Ken Hopkins spent six days out of state attending two national conferences but reported spending no city funds on the travel.
Those conferences included the Community Leaders of America CLA|FCL South Carolina Spring National Conference in April 2025 and the CLA|FCL South Dakota Fall National Conference in October 2025. Attendance for both trips was paid for by the conference organization.
East Providence Mayor Bob DaSilva spent 12 days out of the city on two international trips, also without spending city funds.
DaSilva’s office says he traveled to Cabo Verde in July 2025 with several state and local leaders to celebrate the country’s 50th anniversary of independence. He also traveled to Sao Miguel in the Azores in June 2025 for the “Sister Cities Summit,” which was paid for by FLAD, the Luso-American Development Foundation.
North Providence Mayor Charles Lombardi spent 26 days out of state on five personal trips or vacations and one charitable honor flight, according to records reviewed by the I-Team.
The town said no city or campaign funds were used for Lombardi’s travel.
-
World7 minutes agoZelenskyy warns Russia may be preparing ‘massive’ new attack
-
News30 minutes agoTrump’s doctor recommends he lose weight and exercise more but says he is in ‘excellent health’ | CNN Politics
-
Los Angeles, Ca2 hours agoMan arrested for multiple Los Angeles freeway shootings: CHP
-
Detroit, MI2 hours agoArchdiocese of Detroit’s list of parishes chosen for halted Masses grows
-
San Francisco, CA2 hours agoGiants reassign 3B coach Borg; Wotus named interim replacement
-
Dallas, TX2 hours agoVigil honors victims of Dallas apartment explosion that killed three and injured five
-
Miami, FL3 hours ago
Miami kosher, Mutra, restaurant earns Michelin star | The Jerusalem Post
-
Boston, MA3 hours agoRed Sox outfielder Roman Anthony suffers another injury setback
