Posted on 06/30/2011 3:15:03 PM PDT by Qbert
On the heels of a law signed last year by President Barack Obama limiting sentences for crack cocaine offenses, thousands of prisoners for crimes related to the drug will be eligible for early release, the U.S. Sentencing Commission ruled Thursday.
More than 12,000 prisoners nationwide who have been convicted of felony crimes related to the possession, sale and trafficking of crack could have their sentences reduced in light of the decision, which piggybacks off the Fair Sentencing Act.
The law, which more closely aligns recommended sentences for crack to those for powder cocaine and which was signed last August, didn’t automatically apply to people already imprisoned on crack charges, but members of the commission thought it should.
“I believe that the commission has no choice but to make this right,” said Ketanji Brown Jackson, a vice chairwoman of the panel, The Associated Press reported. “I say justice demands this result.”
The six-member panel voted unanimously in favor of reducing sentences, and its decision is final unless Congress chooses to intervene before the end of October.
The average sentence reduction is expected to be about three years, the commission said in its analysis leading up to the vote. A judge will have to approve each sentence reduction and it applies only to people in federal prisons, not state facilities. In all, the Bureau of Prisons could save $200 million in the first five years by shortening sentences.
Thursday’s vote was not without opposition, though. Ahead of it, 15 House and Senate Republicans wrote to the commission to say that the Fair Sentencing Act was only meant to benefit future offenders, and not others.
Have to get those voters, anyway they can...
See, the gubmint is creating new jobs. The need for crack dealers increases.
Soooo... No more prisoners ?
Got it...wink wink.
Good. Use those extra beds for illegals, identity theives, and Wall Street crooks.
Great. How many of those people were originally allowed to cop pleas to the possession charges to avoid the costs of trials of their related robbery/murder/rape charges?
Waiting for Willie Horton - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Horton
Isn’t it the Amish who tend to use crack as opposed to powdered cocaine? Or is it Holder’s people?
Yes and more cops to stand around and scratch their ass at an investigation of you getting robbed are killed by one of the maggots trying to steal money to get high. That employees more grave diggers and undertakers and ambulance drivers and hospital staff.
“Great. How many of those people were originally allowed to cop pleas to the possession charges to avoid the costs of trials of their related robbery/murder/rape charges?”
Great question.
They bring their habit to my AO Eric the Fake can pick up his peoples in a body bag.
Tired of criminals be they penalized or prostituted polidiots.
Actually good. The sentencing disparity was racist anyway. Of course this disparity was asked for by the liberal politicians in charge of the inner cities (read: “black”) where crack use is prevalent.
Somehow, blacks still think liberals are their best friend when quite the opposite is true.
One of the problems of allowing people to cop a plea to a drug crime rather than for what they really did is some do-gooder maniac will let them out of prison early.
And somehow they care not a lick for the fact that crack is much more potent than cocaine, putting susceptible people at greater risk for addictions and heart attacks, etc.
12K more thugs to join obama’s army.
lol
great, this will do wonders for the unemployment rate!
the law of unintended consequences strikes the liberals again!
the disparity had nothing to do with race, it had to do with the dangerousness of the two. Crack is far more likely to kill you than powder.
“great, this will do wonders for the unemployment rate!”
And they can compete for jobs with the other 40,000 prisoners that will be released soon from California prisons.
“New law could free 12K drug users”
That’s great! More crackheads sneaking into the backyard to steal your shovels and garden tools. My wife caught one two weeks ago. By the time I got outside with Mr. Smith, the 50 IQ druggie was high-tailing it at about 80 mph through the bushes.
Then again, in this state you can’t ventilate a burglar for a misdemeanor. All I could’ve done is hop up and down like a madman, waved the pistol around and cracked fat welfare momma jokes.
Too many exacting laws in this state. We need some fuzzy and grey laws that lean heavy in the favor of homeowners who get their shovels stolen by bug-eyed freak cokeheads.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.