Calls about $1,500 service to request resentencing prompts alert from prosecutor
The Pierce County Prosecutor warned Thursday that a company has been calling families of people who are incarcerated and offering $1,500 services to request a resentencing hearing under a new state law.
“We want families to know there’s no need to spend big bucks if they want their loved one considered for resentencing,” Prosecutor Mary Robnett said in a statement. “An incarcerated individual or their family member can simply send an email or letter to my office and ask to be considered. We’ll reply and tell you how to submit a packet for us to review. There’s no need for ‘certified’ court documents, and certainly no need to spend $1,500 on them.”
Her office contacted the state Department of Corrections and the Attorney General about the calls.
The new law, Senate Bill 6164, says in part that a prosecutor can ask the court to resentence someone if the original sentence “no longer advances the interests of justice.”
The Prosecutor’s Office said it was contacted by someone who recently got a call from a Yakima-based company that wrongly implied the person needed certified court documents for their loved one to be considered for resentencing and that the company could get review from the Prosecutor’s Office within two weeks.
“We have COVID going on right now, and lockdowns, and the holidays,” Robnett said. “People are already stressed. Then they receive a call out of the blue and are told they need to spend a substantial amount of money to request consideration under 6164. I can understand why people would feel pressured or confused, so we want to get the word out there to these families: They do not need to spend money on these types of services to be considered for resentencing.”
