The US Justice Department Plans to Let Go 6,000 Prison Inmates

The US Justice Department prepares for one of the largest release of convicts from federal prisons between October 3 and November 2 this year. This is in line with the federal justice department’s plan to solve overcrowding in the prisons and offer relief to drug criminals that were given harsh penalties during the past thirty years.

Most of the convicts will be sent to home confinement and halfway houses before they are put on supervised release. The early release of the convicts follows actions of the US Sentencing Commission last year that had reduced punishment for future drug offenders.

The action is separate from the clemency granted by President Barrack Obama to some nonviolent drug offenders that resulted in the release of 89 inmates. The release is part of a shift in the nation’s approach to drug sentencing and criminal justice.

The US Justice Department has given direction to the prosecutors not to charge nonviolent drug offenders that do not have any connection to drug organizations or gangs. The Sentencing Commission had voted unanimously for reduction in sentences after holding two public hearings in which testimony of local law enforcement officials, federal judges, sentencing advocates, and federal public defenders was heard.

Under the change, an average of 2 years is being reduced from the sentences of eligible prisoners. Most of the inmates that will be released from each prison have served around 8½ years, according to official of the US Justice Department.

“Even with the Sentencing Commission’s reductions, drug offenders will have served substantial prison sentences,” Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates said.

In addition, the reduction in sentences is not automatic. Under the Commission’s directive, federal judges are directed to consider public safety when deciding whether to reduce an inmate’s sentence. The inmates will have to petition to the judge who will decide whether to reduce their sentences.

Judges around the states have been granting reducedsentences every week, according the US Justice Department. The officials say that some of the inmates have been sent to halfway houses. However, in some of the cases, judges have denied requests of the inmates for early release. For instance, Judge Royce Lamberth had denied requests of clemency to two of the most notorious drug kingpins in the US.

Critics say that showing leniency to so many criminals at the same time could result in an increased crime rate. However, Justice Department officials answered this criticism by stating that more than one third of the inmates that are scheduled to be released are foreign citizens that will be deported by the direction of Immigration authorities.

They also cited a study that showed that the offenders that were released early in 2007 did not commit crimes after their release, and their recidivism rate was similar to those who had completed their sentences.

Moreover, a group of senators had introduced a bipartisan criminal justice reform bill, that when ratified by the Congress and signed by the president, could allow inmates that were previously imprisoned under mandatory minimums an opportunity for early release.