The Justice Department is preparing to release roughly 6,000 inmates
:
from federal prisons starting at the end of this month as part of an
effort to ease overcrowding and roll back the harsh penalties given to
nonviolent drug dealers in the 1980s and ’90s, according to federal law
enforcement officials.
The release will be one of the largest discharges of inmates from federal prisons in American history. It coincides with an intensifying bipartisan effort to ease the mass incarcerations that followed decades of tough sentencing for drug offenses — like dealing crack cocaine — which have taken a particularly harsh toll on minority communities.
He also said that prisoners who were released after receiving job skills and other assimilation training often succeeded. But that rarely occurs, he said — even in the federal system.
Last week, a bipartisan group of senators proposed a sweeping overhaul aimed at reducing mandatory minimums and winning early release for those serving sentences disproportionate to their crimes.
from federal prisons starting at the end of this month as part of an
effort to ease overcrowding and roll back the harsh penalties given to
nonviolent drug dealers in the 1980s and ’90s, according to federal law
enforcement officials.
About
a third of the inmates are undocumented immigrants who will be
deported. Because many of them were convicted of significant legal
offenses, President Obama
is unlikely to be criticized as sharply for their release by those who
have objected to past deportations by the administration.
The release will be one of the largest discharges of inmates from federal prisons in American history. It coincides with an intensifying bipartisan effort to ease the mass incarcerations that followed decades of tough sentencing for drug offenses — like dealing crack cocaine — which have taken a particularly harsh toll on minority communities.
While
news of the early releases was widely praised, it raised some concerns
among law enforcement officials across the country who are grappling
with an increase in homicides. Their fear is that many of the freed
convicts will be unable to get jobs and will return to crime.
Ronald
E. Teachman, who was the police chief in South Bend, Ind., until last
Wednesday, said inmates were not always convicted of all the crimes they
had committed.
He also said that prisoners who were released after receiving job skills and other assimilation training often succeeded. But that rarely occurs, he said — even in the federal system.
“People
come out of prison hardened and angry and more likely to offend,” said
Mr. Teachman, now an executive with ShotSpotter, a company that promotes
a system for detecting gunfire.
In
April 2014, the United States Sentencing Commission reduced the
penalties for many nonviolent drug crimes. That summer it said those
guidelines could be applied retroactively to many prisoners serving long
drug sentences. Eric H. Holder Jr., the attorney general at the time,
had lobbied the sentencing commission to make the changes.
Under
the new guidelines, prisoners can ask federal judges to reassess their
sentences. Along with examining the inmates’ behavior in prison, the
judges look at whether they are likely to act out violently if they are
released.
As
part of an effort to give the federal Bureau of Prisons time to prepare
for an influx of convicts entering probation and re-entry programs, the
releases were delayed. They will now take place from Oct. 30 to Nov. 2.
Continue reading the main story
Continue reading the main story
“The
Sentencing Commission’s actions — which create modest reductions for
drug offenders — is a step toward these necessary reforms,” said Sally
Q. Yates, the deputy attorney general. “Even with the Sentencing
Commission’s reductions, drug offenders will have served substantial
prison sentences.”
The
United States has a quarter of the world’s prison population, and
Republican and Democratic lawmakers agree that prison spending, which
accounts for a third of the Justice Department’s budget, needs to be
reduced.
Last week, a bipartisan group of senators proposed a sweeping overhaul aimed at reducing mandatory minimums and winning early release for those serving sentences disproportionate to their crimes.
The
changes would be retroactive if the legislation is enacted, and
lawmakers estimated that up to 6,500 other prisoners — many of them
charged with offenses related to crack cocaine — could qualify for
resentencing under the changes. Given the bipartisan support, the
legislation has a stronger chance of being passed than many other bills
Congress is considering.
Immigrant
advocates have accused the administration of breaking up families by
deporting immigrants who did little wrong other than coming to the
country illegally. This criticism was fueled by a record number of
deportations in Mr. Obama’s first term — although that pace has slowed
considerably in the last year.
This
summer, Republican candidates for president, particularly Donald J.
Trump, seized on the killing of a woman on a San Francisco pier by a man
who had been deported to Mexico several times and was recently freed
from a federal prison.
Josh
Earnest, the White House press secretary, on Tuesday declined to comment on the release of the prisoners, but expressed optimism that both parties would continue to support criminal justice changes.
Earnest, the White House press secretary, on Tuesday declined to comment on the release of the prisoners, but expressed optimism that both parties would continue to support criminal justice changes.
“We’re
pleased to see that many Republicans consider this to be a priority,
too,” Mr. Earnest said. “At this point, I don’t think there’s a
significant level of concern that any rhetoric on the campaign trail
could sabotage the important bipartisan work that’s currently ongoing on
Capitol Hill. And I hope I’m right about that.”
Anthony
Papa, a spokesman at the Drug Policy Alliance, which supports the
relaxation of certain drug sentencing laws, said, “It warms my heart to
hear that 6,000 people will be coming home.”
“The
drug war has devastated families and communities, and it is time for
the healing to begin,” said Mr. Papa, who himself spent 12 years behind
bars on a mandatory minimum drug sentence
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