Many Nonviolent Drug Offenders to be Released from Prison

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced a plan to release six thousand nonviolent drug offenders from prison in one of the “single largest discharges of inmates from federal prisons in American history” (Siegel, 2015). 

Between October 30 and November 2, the federal prisoners will be released and either moved into halfway houses or put on temporary home confinement. This is due in part to criticism leveled against the DOJ for passing “unduly harsh sentences for nonviolent drug crimes” and the uneven incarcerating of the poor and people of color (Siegel, 2015) “Far too many people have lost years of their lives to draconian sentencing laws born of the failed drug war,” says Jesselyn McCurdy of the American Civil Liberties Union. 

In addition to removing thousands of inmates from the US’s overcrowded prisons, the United States Sentencing Commission has “reduced the penalties for many nonviolent drug crimes” and issued new guidelines that allow current prisoners to ask federal judges to review their sentences. 

Siegel, Z. (2015). Thousands of nonviolent drug offenders to be released from US prisons. Retrieved from https://www.thefix.com/thousands-non-violent-drug-offenders-be-released-us-prisons