NACDL Applauds U.S. Sentencing Commission Vote Cutting Federal Prison Terms for Drug Offenses

On July 18, the U.S. Sentencing Commission took a significant step, long urged by NACDL and numerous allied organizations in the criminal justice community, to cut federal prison terms for drug offenses. The adopted reform retroactively decreases the drug table set forth in U.S. Sentencing Guidelines §2D1.1 by two-offense levels across all drug types. In short, it means that, unless Congress acts to block it, effective November 1 of this year, some 50,000 people currently incarcerated in the federal prison system for drug offenses could be eligible for a reduction of their sentence by an average of nearly two years, with releases slated to begin November 1, 2015.

The courts can begin granting motions for sentence reductions, under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2), on November 1, 2014. The Commission delayed the date upon which release may occur to November 1, 2015, in order to provide the courts with time to consider motions and to provide the Bureau of Prisons and reentry agencies with time to prepare for reentry services. The amendment will be added to the list of retroactive guideline changes under USSG §1B1.10. This guideline also sets forth various policies concerning reduction proceedings and will now include the proviso that court orders reducing sentences under the “drugs minus two” amendment must have an effective date of November 1, 2015, or later.

NACDL has long advocated for an end to mandatory minimums and for fairer and more rational sentencing policies. In connection with the Commission’s consideration of the retroactivity of Amendment 3, the Association filed this letter on July 7, 2014. Additional NACDL resources on sentencing reform can be found here.