Alabama: Limited incarceration for probation violators.
Arkansas: Revised drug statutes; reformed sentencing practices to reduce recidivism; and enacted expungement provision.
California: Authorized county jail detention for certain felony offenders.
Colorado: Codified sentencing standards; established presumption of parole standard; and authorized early termination of community corrections sentences.
Connecticut: Expanded risk reduction credits; reduced penalty for certain marijuana offenses; enacted medical response to overdose protection; and restricted incarceration of certain juveniles.
Delaware: Restructured drug code; authorized use of medical marijuana; opted out of federal food stamp ban for persons with felony drug convictions; and established expungement policy for specified juvenile offenses.
Florida: Expanded eligibility for drug court participation and eliminated incarceration as a sentencing option for certain youth.
Georgia: Permitted sentencing modification for young offenders with certain felony offenses.
Idaho: Amended alternative to incarceration options; and gave authorization for courts to expunge certain convictions.
Illinois: Repealed death penalty; codified process of prioritizing alternatives to incarceration into statute.
Indiana: Authorized expungement of certain arrests and low-level offenses.
Kentucky: Revised penalties for certain drug offenses; established alternative sentencing options for certain offenses.
Louisiana: Authorized early release for elderly prisoners; enabled sentence reductions through safety valve; and modified parole policies.
Maryland: Modified parole process for persons sentenced to life in prison; repealed certain parole revocation provisions; and established pilot program to reduce parole revocations.
Montana: Expanded medical parole eligibility for prisoners.
Nebraska: Authorized sentence reductions for certain prisoners.
Nevada: Repealed juvenile life without parole for non-homicide offenses.
North Carolina: Limited use of prison as a sentencing option for certain probationers; and established certificate for restoration of civil rights.
North Dakota: Authorized sentence modification for certain prisoners.
Ohio: Established certificates of achievement and employability.
Oklahoma: Streamlined parole process.
Oregon: Expanded expungement policy for persons convicted of certain offenses; restricted mandatory minimums for certain juveniles.
Rhode Island: Authorized discretion for certain sentencing options; extended medical parole policy to severely ill.
South Dakota: Established partial early discharge from parole.
Texas: Created new standard to reduce probation revocations; entitled probationers to exit community supervision early; clarified election code for persons; limited misdemeanor citations in school; and expanded determinate probation.
Utah: Restored voting rights for persons with certain prior convictions.
Vermont: Allowed alternative sentencing options for certain prisoners.
Washington: Established a process to eliminate interest for criminal justice debt.
West Virginia: Increased sentencing reduction terms for program participation.
Source: The State of Sentencing 2011–Developments in Policy and Practice
