Articles Posted in Federal Charges

The First Step Act, federal legislation for criminal justice reform, was just passed by the U.S. Senate. The First Step Act is aimed at reducing our country’s mass incarceration rates by reducing sentences and offering more programs to reduce recidivism rates. Under this act, federal judges will now have more discretion in bypassing mandatory minimum sentences, allowing them to give lighter sentences for non-violent drug offenses. Other sentencing guidelines have also been reduced, including the “three strikes rule,” which has been lowered from a mandatory life sentence down to twenty-five years. A law that increases sentences for individuals in possession of a firearm while committing a crime by up to twenty-five years will no longer apply for first-time offenders. The First Step Act will also make a 2010 statute that reduced the sentencing disparity rate between crack cocaine and powder cocaine charges retroactive to extend the reduced sentencing to individuals sentenced prior to the 2010 statute. Some other benefits for current inmates include more access to job training programs and programs designed to reduce recidivism rates, an expansion of early release programs, and pregnant inmates can no longer be shackled. Continue reading