Between Friday, October 30th, and Monday, November 2nd, the Department of Justice implemented the largest one-time release of federal prisoners in history.
Back in the 1960s, a harsh war on crime began. Drug-related sentences grew longer, and life-long sentences without parole multiplied. Moreover, mandatory- sentencing guidelines left no room for the discretion of a judge when sentencing offenders. This led to overcrowding in federal prisons, not to mention the uproar of a controversial debate over the severity of prison sentences.
In November of 2014, the U.S. Sentencing Commission reduced the potential sentence for future drug offenders. Furthermore, in order to minimize overcrowding in federal prisons and to assist past drug offenders serving severe sentences, the change in policy was declared retroactive. The past year has been devoted to strategizing the release of past offenders still serving their sentences. Between Friday, October 30th, and Monday, November 2nd, over 6,000 prisoners were released, yielding the largest one-time release in history. With roughly 100,000 drug offenders in the nation currently locked up in federal prison, up to 46,000 of them may be released over time.
A popular reaction to this news may be one of suspicion: what does this release mean for the lives of the former drug offenders, as well as society in general? However, this wariness is likely unnecessary. While this release is groundbreaking, it is not the grand emancipation of drug offenders that one may be envisioning. The policy change does not automatically grant any former drug offender release from prison; any eligible prisoner can apply for release, yet each application is reviewed by a judge on an individual basis. Thus far, 26% of applications have been denied.
Furthermore, officials claim that about two-thirds of the released will be immediately sent to halfway houses and/or home confinement, eventually leading them to supervised releases. The other third of the former offenders are foreign citizens, meaning they will be immediately deported. For those who will not be deported, additional work is being done to help their transitions back to society, including an employment fair that was held at the federal courthouse in Boston on Wednesday, November 4th for those released.
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