By Prensa Latina
Washington : The US Sentencing Commission is likely to make a recent amendment to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines retroactively lowering penalties for crack cocaine offenses .
According to CNN Monday, nearly 1,600 crack cocaine offenders will be eligible for a lower sentence under the decision, and many could be released as having already served their new sentence.
A federal judge will make the final determination whether an offender is eligible for a lower sentence and how much that sentence should be lowered, taking into consideration whether lowering the offender’s sentence would pose a danger to public safety, Deborah Rhodes, a Justice Department official, explained.
Michael Nachmanoff, a public defender in Virginia, said that his office requested motions for 16 inmates, and confirmed the release of at least four of those criminals on Monday.
In December after a six-month congressional review, the Commission’s amendment to the Federal sentencing guidelines for crack cocaine offenses took effect.
The Commission considered a number of factors during its deliberations, including the purpose for lowering crack cocaine sentences, the limit on any reduction allowed by the amendment, whether it would be difficult for the courts to apply the reduction, and whether making the amendment retroactive would raise public safety concerns or cause unwarranted sentencing disparity in the federal system.
The sentences for involvement in related crimes could be 22 years in prison and civil rights organizations have charged racism at the time of sentencing, with Afro-Americans receiving more severe sentences.