US Sentencing Commission

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DOJ Plan: Cut 20K Inmates' Jail Time by 23 Months

Holder-endorsed proposal would reduce nonviolent offenders' sentences

(Newser) - Some 9% of the federal prison population could see their sentences reduced by an average of 23 months thanks to a new Justice Department proposal endorsed by Eric Holder. The US Sentencing Commission voted in April to reduce drug sentences for nonviolent offenders in the future; this proposal, presented to...

Anonymous Hacks US Site to Avenge Aaron Swartz

Government's sentencing agency is the target

(Newser) - The hackers of Anonymous have hit the website of the US Sentencing Commission in revenge for the prosecution of Aaron Swartz, reports CNN . The site ussc.gov remained down as of this morning. The hackers say they have stolen sensitive Justice Department files—naming them after Supreme Court justices—and...

12K Crack Offenders Eligible for Early Release

One in 17 prisoners could be released as early as November

(Newser) - As many as 12,000 people in federal prison for crack-related crimes can get their sentences reduced as a result of a new law that brought the penalties for the drug more closely in line with those for powdered cocaine, a government commission decided yesterday. The decision by the US...

Holder Backs Release of 5,500 Crack Offenders

Proposal would correct vast crack/cocaine sentencing gap

(Newser) - Eric Holder today told the US Sentencing Commission that he supports a proposal to release thousands of federal prisoners convicted on crack-related offenses. Until Congress changed them last year, federal sentencing guidelines gave crack users—who are predominantly poor and black—much harsher sentences than powder cocaine users. Now, Holder...

First Inmates Freed in Crack Overhaul

More than 3,000 eligible for release this year under new sentencing guidelines

(Newser) - Federal prisons are beginning to release prisoners to comply with new crack-cocaine sentencing guidelines, the Washington Post reports. The US Sentencing Commission made more than 3,000 inmates eligible for release this year by voting in December to even out punishments for crack-cocaine offenses against those involving powdered cocaine; crack...

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