"Fair Sentencing Act" Less Time in Jail, Starts to Pay Off

Newsflash from your Hollywood Attorney:

In 2010, Congress passed the "Fair Sentencing Act", which reduced the vast disparity in the way the federal courts punish crack versus powder cocaine offenses.

This week, we began to learn that there are no costs, only benefits. According to a preliminary report released by the commission, more than 7,300 federal prisoners have had their sentences shortened under the law.

The average reduction is 29 months, meaning that over all, offenders are serving roughly 16,000 years fewer than they otherwise would have. And since the federal government spends about $30,000 per year to house an inmate, this reduction alone is worth nearly half-a-billion dollars — big money for a Bureau of Prisons with a $7 billion budget.

In addition, the commission found no significant difference in recidivism rates between those prisoners who were released early and those who served their full sentences.

But 18 to 1 is still out of whack. The ratio was always based on faulty science and misguided assumptions, and it still disproportionately punishes blacks, who make up more than 80 percent of those prosecuted for federal crack offenses. The commission and the Obama administration have called for a 1-to-1 ratio.

Read More.... http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/02/opinion/sentencing-reform-starts-to-pay-off.html?smid=tw-share&_r=0

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