U.S. Sentencing Commission Votes to Allow Retroactive Reduction in Drug Sentences

This month, the U.S. Sentencing Commission voted unanimously to make its proposed amendment to the federal drug trafficking sentencing guidelines retroactive.  According to the press release announcing the vote, this would allow about 46,000 current federal inmates to apply to a judge for a sentence reduction, beginning November 2015.  Eligible offenders could have their sentences reduced by an average of 25 months or 18.8% of the total sentence.

Congress has until November, 1, 2014 to reject the proposed changes to the sentencing guidelines.  According to the press release, the delayed effective date for the retroactive reductions (until the following November), among other things, will:

allow judges more time to consider whether each eligible offender is an appropriate candidate for a sentence reduction and will give the government adequate time to object to sentence reductions when prosecutors believe public safety may be at risk.

This Washington Post article discusses the proposal.