About 6,000 federal inmates will get early release at month's end; will crime go up?
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A retroactive reduction in some federal drug sentences will begin to be implemented at the end of the month when the U.S. Bureau of prisons will release about 6,000 inmates.
The number is the largest amount of federal prisoners ever released at one time, the Washington Post reports. The U.S. Sentencing Commission has estimated that 46,000 out 100,000 federal drug offenders could eventually qualify for the early release.
The cut in sentencing, known as “drugs minus two,” cuts the numerical value used in calculating most drug sentences by two levels, the Post explains. As a result, an average of two years may be cut from sentences of eligible prisoners; they can’t be released, however, unless a federal judge weighing public safety approves.
The U.S. Sentencing Commission’s retroactive cut in sentencing was effective last November, but the Justice Department was given a year to prepare.
Critics say the release of so many prisoners at once may lead to an increase in crime.
Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates says that, even with the cut in sentencing, the drug offenders have served substantial prison sentences. Prison officials and probation officers will work to ensure the former offenders are adequately supervised and monitored, she said. About a third of the inmates released will be deported.
