The US Sentencing Commission approved a proposal last month that will reduce prison sentences for future drug offenders. Now, the Department of Justice, headed by Attorney General Eric Holder, has announced its support for an additional initiative that would retroactively reduce prison sentences in a similar manner for thousands of nonviolent drug offenders currently serving time in federal prisons across the country — the retroactive proposal should go to a vote next month.
The proposal would reduce sentences for qualified inmates by an average of 23 months. Qualified inmates are described as those “who lack significant criminal histories and whose offenses did not include aggravating factors, such as the possession of a dangerous weapon or the use of violence.”
Somewhere between 20,000 and 50,000 nonviolent drug offenders may be affected by this proposal, and if passed the reduction of prison sentences could save taxpayers $2.4 billion.
Holder, who announced his support for enforcing these changes retroactively in an official statement on Tuesday, described the proposal:
“If your offense was nonviolent, did not involve a weapon, and you do not have a significant criminal history, then you would be eligible to apply for a reduced sentence in accordance with the new rules approved by the Commission in April. Not everyone in prison for a drug-related offense would be eligible. Nor would everyone who is eligible be guaranteed a reduced sentence. But this proposal strikes the best balance between protecting public safety and addressing the overcrowding of our prison system that has been exacerbated by unnecessarily long sentences.”
With marijuana legalization movements gaining momentum and credibility across the nation, criminal justice reform has become something of a political platform for Attorney General Holder and President Obama. The new initiative is consistent with these efforts, which “seek to reserve the harshest penalties for the most serious criminals who pose the greatest threat to public safety.”
Sally Yates, US Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, provided further information about the DOJ’s understanding of the situation. “We believe that the federal drug sentencing structure in place before the amendment resulted in unnecessarily long sentences for some offenders that has resulted in significant prison overcrowding,” she said, adding that “imprisonment terms for those sentenced pursuant to the old guideline should be moderated to the extent possible consistent with other policy considerations.”
According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, there are currently 100,888 people serving federal time for drug-related charges, meaning that drug offenders currently make up 49.9% of federal prison inmates.
Sources:
http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2014/June/14-ag-619.html
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2014/jun/10/ag_holder_supports_making_federa
Photo Credit: US Department of Education
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