Why the Justice Department will soon release 6,000 prisoners
As many as 6,000 federal prisoners will be allowed to walk free early starting later this month, an order that ranks as
This decision, which came Tuesday from the Department of Justice and was first reported by The Washington Post, comes as lawmakers from both ends of the political spectrum are increasingly zeroing in on prison overcrowding and mass incarceration nationwide.
Since the 1980s, the United States鈥� inmate population has , now composing a quarter of the world鈥檚 total number of prisoners, 海角大神 previously reported.
A bipartisan plan last week was introduced to Congress that would prevent or reduce mandatory sentences for nonviolent offenders, and allow 6,500 prisoners to appeal their sentences.
These 6,000 prisoners are the first wave of low-level drug offenders to whom the US Sentencing Commission is showing leniency. The panel鈥檚 decision last year marked a broader 鈥� and separate 鈥� extension of to grant clemency to 46 such prisoners this July, according to the Post.
鈥淭hese men and women were not hardened criminals, but the overwhelming majority had been sentenced to at least 20 years,鈥� the president . 鈥淚 believe that at its heart, America is a nation of second chances. And I believe these folks deserve their second chance.鈥�
Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates also acknowledged the 鈥渟ubstantial prison sentences鈥� already served by drug offenders in her remarks on Tuesday.
鈥淢辞谤别辞惫别谤,鈥� 鈥渢hese reductions are not automatic. Under the commission鈥檚 directive, federal judges are required to carefully consider public safety in deciding whether to reduce an inmate鈥檚 sentence.鈥�
While the early-release order may provide some relief to the country鈥檚 crowded federal prison system, the path to criminal justice reform is more complex than most would imagine, Rebecca U. Thorpe:
First, there is a聽common misperception聽perpetuated by mainstream politicians聽who want to reform the criminal justice system that most prisoners are nonviolent drug offenders.聽This idea is false.
The second reason is more disturbing. Mass incarceration solved two major problems for a country whose collapsing industrial base left the poor and working classes without jobs.
Some local communities have started taking matters into their own hands, hoping to break the cycle of this historically 鈥渢ough-on-crime鈥� mentality, reports the Monitor. A new breed of community courts emerging around the country, for example, now deals with the 鈥渞elatively minor, always nonviolent鈥� offenses common in many urban neighborhoods.
The latest order will free inmates across the country between Oct. 30 and Nov. 2. They will then have to pass through halfway houses or home confinement before being granted supervised release. Eventually, the policy could allow 46,000 of the country鈥檚 estimated 100,000 drug offenders to qualify for early release, according to .
