Study: ‘Fair Sentencing’ Law Leads to Decrease in Crack Prosecution - Articles

All Content


Posted by: Brittany Sims on Aug 4, 2015

A federal law that closed the gap in sentence severity for offenses involving crack cocaine and those involving powder cocaine has led to fewer federal prosecutions and a reduction in the federal prisoner population, according to a new report from the U.S. Sentencing Commission. The commission, which provides guidelines to aid federal judges in sentencing, estimated the law will save the Federal Bureau of Prisons 29,653 bed years — each of which represent 12 months of prison time. The Wall Street Journal Law Blog has the story.