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HB289 • 2025

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO MODIFICATION OF SENTENCES OF INCARCERATION.

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO MODIFICATION OF SENTENCES OF INCARCERATION.

Crime
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Spiegelman
Last action
2026-03-24
Official status
House Corrections 3/5/26
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide information on the impact of the bill on courts handling sentencing and modification requests or on individuals convicted of crimes less serious than class A felonies.

Changes to Sentence Modification Rules

The bill stops people who are found guilty of the most serious crimes (class A felonies) from asking for their jail time to be changed.

What This Bill Does

  • Removes the ability for someone convicted of a class A felony to ask for changes to their sentence.

Who It Names or Affects

  • People who are found guilty of class A felonies and their families.

Terms To Know

Class A felony
The most serious type of crime, like murder or robbery with extreme violence.
Sentence modification
Changing the terms of a jail sentence after it has been given by a court.

Limits and Unknowns

  • Does not specify what happens to people who have already applied for sentence modifications before this bill.
  • The exact impact on families and communities is unclear without further details.

Bill History

  1. 2026-03-24 Delaware General Assembly

    Motion to Release Failed

  2. 2026-03-05 Delaware General Assembly

    Introduced and Assigned to Corrections Committee in House

Official Summary Text

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO MODIFICATION OF SENTENCES OF INCARCERATION.
This bill excludes a person convicted and sentenced for a class A felony from being able to have their sentence of incarceration modified under § 4217 of Title 11.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
Legislation Document

SPONSOR:

Rep. Spiegelman & Rep. Carson & Sen. Pettyjohn

Rep. D. Short; Sens. Buckson, Lawson, Wilson

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HOUSE BILL NO. 289

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO MODIFICATION OF SENTENCES OF INCARCERATION.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:

Section 1. Amend § 4217, Title 11 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:

§ 4217. Jurisdiction over sentence retained; sentence modification process.

(a) (1) For purposes of this section, “person” means an individual serving an aggregate sentence of incarceration at Level V in excess of 1 year.

(2)

Except for a person convicted of a class A felony, if

If

a court imposes an aggregate sentence of incarceration at Level V in excess of 1 year, the court retains jurisdiction over the person to modify the sentence to reduce the level of custody or time to be served under this section.

(3)

Except for a person convicted and sentenced for a class A felony, a

A

person may apply for a sentence modification under this section if any of the following apply:

SYNOPSIS

This bill excludes a person convicted and sentenced for a class A felony from being able to have their sentence of incarceration modified under § 4217 of Title 11.