PA House passes Hill-Evans bill to give veterans a chance at post-conviction relief
Rep. Carol Hill-Evans December 16, 2025 | 3:36 PM
YORK, Dec. 16 – Veterans who are incarcerated and diagnosed with certain health conditions after their sentencing would get a chance at reducing those sentences under legislation introduced by Rep. Carol Hill-Evans, D-York, and approved today by the Pennsylvania House.
House Bill 458 would allow incarcerated veterans with a post-traumatic stress injury, such as PTSD, or a traumatic brain injury that’s connected to their service – but were only diagnosed with the condition after they began serving their prison sentence – to apply to the court for post-conviction relief.
“This legislation is about giving our veterans the fairness and compassion they deserve by making a simple update to maintain consistency in how courts sentence them,” Hill-Evans said. “Veterans are allowed to present PTSD and TBI as mitigating factors during their sentencing for a crime, so it only makes sense to allow veterans who were later diagnosed after their incarceration began to introduce this new information. These are men and women who served our country honorably, and it’s not uncommon for their trauma to go unrecognized or untreated for months or years, and certainly conceivable at the time of their trial or plea.”
Hill-Evans pointed to the fact that both medical professionals and the general public know much more now about how these neurological conditions affect behavior, judgment, and decision-making, often leading to uncharacteristically high-risk behavior. For many of these veterans, she said, those invisible wounds of war may have been contributing factors to the circumstances that led to their incarceration, and justice demands the state to take that into account.
“This bill doesn’t guarantee anyone a reduced sentence, it simply gives courts the opportunity to review a case with the full picture in view,” Hill-Evans continued. “It is a measured, responsible step toward fairness, and a reflection of our gratitude to and deep understanding of those who risked everything in service to this country.”
The legislation is now eligible for consideration by the state Senate.
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