The Justice Department intends to release about 6,000 inmates from federal prisons beginning at the end of October, per new sentencing guidelines for drug crimes established last year, reports Fox News.
The new guidelines from the U.S. Sentencing Commission, which took effect on Nov. 1, 2014, reduce penalties on certain nonviolent drug offenders, and also apply to any future offenders. The Commission decided in July 2014 that close to 50,000 federal inmates locked up on drug charges would be eligible for reduced sentences.
A majority of the released inmates will be transferred to halfway houses or, in some circumstances, drug rehab centers. About a third of them will be handed over to ICE and face possible deportation, according to Fox. The inmates released at the end of this month will face a normal probationary period and supervised release.
Under the new guidelines, inmates deemed eligible under the new rules could apply for release. Each case was then reviewed by a federal judge in order to determine whether it would be beneficial to public safety to grant the prisoner early release.
“Even with the Sentencing Commission’s reductions, drug offenders will have served substantial prison sentences. Moreover, these reductions are not automatic,” Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates said in a statement. “Under the Commission's directive, Federal judges are required to carefully consider public safety in deciding whether to reduce an inmate’s sentence."
