Larry Hoover seeks release after decades in prison, cites 'First Step Act'

CHICAGO - Larry Hoover, the 73-year-old co-founder of the Chicago street gang the Gangster Disciples, made a rare public appearance on Thursday as he addressed a district judge via video conference.

Hoover, who has been serving a life sentence for murder since the 1970s and then another life sentence for running a criminal enterprise from prison since the 90s, is seeking a new chance at freedom through a resentencing request under the First Step Act, a 2018 law signed by then-President Donald Trump that allows certain sentencing reforms to be applied retroactively.

Hoover’s legal team argues that evolving views on lengthy prison terms warrant reconsideration of his life sentence, which he is serving at the high-security ADX facility in Florence, Colorado.

"While we recognize the seriousness of the offenses for which he's convicted, we believe that there's been evolving attitudes about excessively harsh sentences and that life in prison at ADX is basically just being buried alive," his attorney said after the hearing.

A ruling on Hoover’s resentencing request is expected next month.