Bill > S0145

This bill requires courts to carefully consider a defendant's parental status when determining sentencing, with a focus on minimizing negative impacts on children. The legislation mandates that courts evaluate several key factors when a defendant is a parent, including whether the parent is breastfeeding, the child's age, the parent's role in the child's daily educational and medical care, the parent-child relationship, any special needs of the child, and the parent's financial support role. Defendants will be allowed to present a "family impact statement" at sentencing, which can include testimony, written statements, videos, and other documentation about their family circumstances. The bill strongly encourages alternative sentencing options like probation, suspended sentences, or home confinement for parents, unless the court determines that the parent poses a significant risk to the community that outweighs the potential harm to the child caused by the parent's removal. This approach aims to balance judicial punishment with the preservation of critical family relationships and minimizing disruption to children's lives, particularly for first-time offenders who are not charged with capital or certain sex offenses involving minors. The act will take effect immediately upon its passage.

Justice

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