Approximately 12,000 federal prisoners will be released early because of the U. Sentencing Commission's decision to retroactively apply the Fair Sentencing Act, which reduced prison terms for inmates convicted of crack-cocaine offenses. On a unanimous vote, "unfairly long sentences" for crack offenders, who are mostly African Americans, were reduced to be more compatible with sentences given to powder-cocaine offenders, who are often white and sometimes affluent (Serrano). .
Last year, Congress voted to lower the sentences given to crack-related crimes such as possession and trafficking. Many people believed the law was racially discriminatory because crack users are typically poor and living in a black neighborhood. On June 30th, the commission decided to apply the lesser sentences to those who are already in prison (Serrano).
Patti Saris, the head of the commission, said the Fair Sentencing Act is a result of Congress "recognizing the fundamental unfairness of federal cocaine-sentencing policy." The commission then aimed to bridge the disparity (Serrano).
"Justice demands this result," said Ketanji Brown Jackson, the commission's vice chairman (Serrano).
The law will go into effect in November barring that Congress does not veto it, although that is highly unlikely. The average crack sentence will be reduced by about 37 months, which could save more than $200 million in the next five years according to the federal Bureau of Prisons. Almost six percent of the federal inmate population will be released. However, the reductions are not made automatically to every prisoner. Each prisoner must file a petition and show that they are no longer a threat to society. Furthermore, inmates with more complicated cases, such as those who used weapons or have previous run-ins with the law, may not be eligible for a reduction. Inmates convicted under state law will not be eligible either (Serrano).
