DC Bill Mandates Life Without Parole for First-Degree Murder, Doubles Minimums for Carjacking and Burglary

The “Strong Sentences for Safer D.C. Streets Act of 2025” is a major overhaul of how the District of Columbia sentences people convicted of serious violent crimes. This bill doesn't just tweak the numbers; it fundamentally changes the floor for prison time across the board, making several minimum sentences significantly longer and removing judicial flexibility.

The End of Second Chances for Homicide

The most substantial change is reserved for first-degree murder. Currently, the minimum sentence is 30 years, but this bill wipes that out and replaces it with life imprisonment without the possibility of release. That’s a massive shift. Essentially, if you are convicted of first-degree murder after this bill becomes law, you are guaranteed to die in prison. For second-degree murder, the bill establishes a new minimum of 10 years, though the maximum remains life imprisonment. This is the government doubling down on incapacitation—taking away any chance of parole for the most serious crimes.

Skyrocketing Minimums for Sexual Assault and Kidnapping

The bill also dramatically increases the minimum sentences for sexual offenses. For rape, the minimum sentence jumps to 25 years if the person has no prior violent convictions, and 30 years if they do. This is a huge increase, creating a mandatory minimum that is longer than many people’s entire careers. Similarly, first-degree sexual abuse now carries a minimum of 25 years up to life imprisonment. For kidnapping, the bill sets a new minimum of 10 years, up from the current sliding scale.

What This Means for Everyday Crime

Beyond homicide and sexual assault, this legislation targets crimes that have become major public concerns, specifically carjacking and burglary. If you’re convicted of carjacking without a weapon, the minimum sentence goes from 7 years to 10 years. If you commit carjacking while armed, the minimum sentence jumps from 15 years to a staggering 20 years (Section 2). This means if you’re a young person making a terrible mistake, that mistake now costs you two decades of your life, minimum. First-degree burglary also sees its mandatory minimum sentence double, moving from 5 years up to 10 years.

The Real-World Impact: Less Flexibility, More Costs

When minimum sentences are this high, it severely limits the ability of judges to consider mitigating factors—things like a person’s age, mental health, or whether they were coerced. Judicial discretion is essentially tossed out the window, replaced by legislative mandates that treat every case within that category the same, regardless of the nuanced details. For families of the convicted, this means much longer, if not permanent, separation. For the District, it means a significant increase in the long-term cost of incarceration, as people are now guaranteed to be held for decades longer than before. Since the bill only applies to crimes committed after it becomes law (Section 3), it avoids retroactive application, but it sets a much harsher future for D.C.’s criminal justice system.