Going further than what the Justice Department advocated, the United States Sentencing Commission voted unanimously Thursday to retroactively apply sentence reductions to those convicted of federal crack offenses.
In a much-anticipated meeting, the bipartisan commission voted 6-0 to apply an amendment of the 2010 Fair Sentencing Act to prisoners already in jail, meaning that as many as 12,000 federal prisoners could have their sentences shortened.
“Today’s action by the Commission ensures that the longstanding injustice recognized by Congress is remedied,” said Judge Patti B. Saris, the chair of the Commission.
The Fair Sentencing Act lowered the sentence for those convicted of crack offenses; before the act, someone caught with 5 grams of crack was given a minimum of five years in jail, while it would have taken 500 grams of powder cocaine to trigger the same amount of jail time. That 100:1 ratio is now 18:1, and the Commission’s decision means that prisoners who were convicted under the old guidelines can benefit from the change. The average sentence reduction for prisoners will be approximately three years, according to the Commission.
The decision went further than what the Justice Department had advocated. Attorney General Eric Holder is in favor of retroactively applying the reductions, but recommended that certain categories of more serious criminals not be eligible for sentence reductions. The Commission rejected that position, arguing that those with longer criminal histories or violent records have already received longer sentences than other crack felons.
Commissioners emphasized, however, that sentence reductions will be made on a case-by-case basis and that public safety risk is a legitimate factor in declining early release.
“The decisions will continue to be in the hands of the judges,” said Commissioner Ricardo H. Hinojosa, who is also the Chief Judge for the Southern District of Texas.
Still, the issue is a controversial one and has received both strong support from advocacy groups such as Families Against Mandatory Minimums and the NAACP, and strong opposition from many in law enforcement.
The National Association of Assistant United States Attorneys is in strong opposition, citing the possible impact on public safety as a result of thousands of convicted drug dealers potentially leaving prison earlier than expected.
Some in Congress have also raised opposition, and, in addition to pointing out crime concerns, have argued that the commission is going against the will of Congress, as nothing in the 2010 law implied that the change should be made retroactive.
Commissioner Ketanji Brown Jackson said that “congressional silence” on the issue was not a legitimate reason against the decision, arguing that the Commission was simply fulfilling the statutory duty to reduce sentences given it by the 2010 act and that the magnitude of the issue necessitates action.
Jackson said the main issue was one of fundamental fairness and of eliminating the “long and persistent shadow” that she said has been cast over the crack convictions and the justice system because of the earlier harsh guidelines. Absent from the Commissions’ discussions but implicit in their decision was the need to reverse racial discrepancies that the sentence guidelines had caused: African Americans are more likely to be street dealers and therefore to be arrested in possession of crack cocaine, while wholesalers in possession of powder would get off more lightly.
Saris alluded to this problem in her remarks, as she noted that the heavy sentences had targeted low-level dealers, not the mid- and-upper level ones they were intended to.
Commissioners also cited more practical concerns as additional reasons for the change, including an expected $240 million in savings for a Bureau of Prisons that is currently 37% over capacity, and noted that studies had shown that those prisoners released early on crack sentences did not differ in recidivism rates from those who served their full sentences.
The commission’s decision had an immediate personal effect on some in the audience: relatives of those currently imprisoned on crack convictions.
Angela Johnson of Hampton, Virginia came with her family to the meeting and said afterward that she hoped that her son, who has served the last four years in federal prison for a crack offense, would be released much sooner as a result of the Commission’s decision.
“It took so long, but I’m impressed,” she said.
Prisoners may begin asking the courts to shorten their sentences starting November 1, a delay the Commission said is designed to give time to the criminal justice system to prepare to handle the cases administratively and to allow Congress to review the decision.
