The U.S. Sentencing Commission recommended prison terms for most drug offenses should be cut by an average of close to a year.
A unanimous vote to cut lower-level drug penalties was settled upon and its recommendations will go into effect in November if Congress doesn’t block them.
Time reports:
Around 70% of drug trafficking defendants would qualify for the reduction, and their sentences would be mostly cut by around 11 months, from 62 to 51 months on average, according to the commission.
So what does this do for the numbers?
Currently around 216,000 Americans are in prison for drug offenses. The new recommendation could cut the overall federal prison population by more than 6,500 inmates over five years.
What do you think of the U.S. Sentencing Commission’s decision? Will it make a difference? Is it fair?
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