Sara’s Law and the Preventing Unfair Sentencing Act of 2026

This bill would let federal judges give a sentence below the mandatory minimum to a "youthful victim offender" so the court can consider how trauma affected the person's conduct. It would also let judges suspend any part of such a person's sentence. A youthful victim offender is defined as someone under 18 convicted of a violent offense against a person who, the court finds by clear and convincing evidence, committed sex trafficking, sexual abuse, child exploitation, or certain related crimes against them within the year before the offense. The change would apply only to convictions entered on or after the law takes effect, and the U.S. Sentencing Commission would review and update its guidelines to match.

Full text and official record on Congress.gov

Sponsors

• Bruce Westerman Republican sponsor
• 9 cosponsors