On April 6, 2011, the U.S. Sentencing Commission issued a press release stating that the Commission amended the Sentencing Guidelines to account for the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010. The changes will be permanent and will result in lower sentences for those facing mandatory minimum sentences for crack cocaine offenses.
Commission chair, Judge Patti B. Saris stated that:
The Fair Sentencing Act was among the most significant pieces of criminal justice legislation passed by Congress in the last three decades. For over 15 years, the Commission has advocated for changes to the statutory penalty structure for crack cocaine offenses. The Commission applauds Congress and the Administration for addressing the sentencing disparity between crack cocaine and powder cocaine offenders.
The Commission estimates that these changes will result in sentences that are “approximately 25 percent lower on average . . .” which “may reduce the cost of incarceration for crack cocaine offenders in the federal prison system in the future.”
The change resets the triggering quantities of crack cocaine offenses. The triggering quantities for the five and ten-year mandatory minimum penalties will be set at 28 grams and 280 grams, respectively, with corresponding base offense levels of 26 and 32.
It is important to note that these changes ARE NOT retroactive. They only apply to offenders sentenced after November 1, 2011. (While in prison, I watched as unethical attorneys and paralegal groups would flood the prison with mailings after an announcement like this or a new SCOTUS decision. Those groups would claim that the new changes are retroactive and apply to everyone. Basically, they would claim to secure relief for anyone willing to pony up a large sum of money. I write about these issues to educate prisoners and their families.).
Although the new changes are not retroactive, there is good news for those sentenced prior to November 11th. The Commission is considering whether to make the changes retroactive. They are holding a hearing on June 1, 2011, as well as seeking public comment.