ILLINOIS PRISON PROJECT
ACTION FUND

Under the felony murder rule, a person can be convicted of first degree murder if they participate in a forcible felony, such as robbery, that results in another person’s death. Typical cases involve multiple people, and those with minimal roles in the underlying offense, such as getaway drivers, are charged and punished as if they actually caused the death.

IPPaf is working to curtail excessive sentencing by reclassifying felony murder from first to second degree.

Illinois is one of only a handful of states that still imposes a life without parole sentence for people convicted of a third “strike.” When a prosecutor seeks a conviction under the three strikes law, a judge has no option but to hand down the punishment.

IPPaf is working to repeal Illinois' three strikes law, returning discretion to judges and ending a costly, ineffective and overly punitive sentencing practice.

People convicted of certain offenses in Illinois must serve a period of mandatory supervised release (MSR) once they are released from prison. People under MSR must adhere to a litany of release conditions. Unlike parole, which Illinois abolished in 1978, MSR is served after the full completion of a prison sentence instead of a mechanism for early release.

A violation of any release condition can result in a person’s reincarceration. Technical violations include a missed appointment with a parole officer, failure to complete programming or staying out after curfew.

IPPaf is working to end reincarceration for minor, technical violations of MSR conditions.