Prisoners’ advocates call the reforms a step forward, but they don’t address discrimination in presidential pardons or apply to everyone serving harsh sentences from outdated guidelines.Last week, the Department of Justice outlined expanded criteria that could allow prisoners convicted of non-vio...
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April 23, 2014The Justice Department announced Wednesday that it will begin considering clemency applications from nonviolent federal inmates amid growing concern of prison overcrowding and changing sentencing guidelines.Deputy Attorney General James Cole made the announcement that federal inmate...
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Up to 70 percent of all federal drug offenses could carry shorter prison sentences if the recommendation passed on Thursday by an agency that advises federal judges on sentencing is not opposed by Congress.The U.S. Sentencing Commission's recommendation reflects a policy supported by the Obama ad...
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InmateAID.com applauds Sentencing Commission for modifying federal drug sentence guidelinesWASHINGTON, D.C.-April 10, 2014 - The United States Sentencing Commission voted today at a public meeting to reduce the sentencing guideline levels applicable to most federal drug trafficking offenders. The...
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WASHINGTON -- The Federal Bureau of Prisons intends to impose new requirements on the more than 200 federal halfway houses throughout the country, mandating that they provide treatment for mental health and substance abuse issues, permit cell phone use and provide transportation so that inmates c...
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February 16, 2014Hoping to cut down on recidivism rates, Gov. Cuomo on Sunday morning will announce that the state will again begin funding college courses for inmates."Giving men and women in prison the opportunity to earn a college degree costs our state less and benefits our society more,...
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Sentencing guidelines forced me to send them away for a long time. Now there's a chance to make things right.By MICHAEL A. PONSOR -WSJFeb. 12, 2014The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the "Smarter Sentencing Act" by a bipartisan vote of 13-5 on Jan. 30, sending it to the Senate floor...
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February 11, 2014WASHINGTON – Attorney General Eric Holder called on a group of states Tuesday to restore voting rights to ex-felons, part of a push to fix what he sees as flaws in the criminal justice system that have a disparate impact on racial minorities."It is time to fundamentally reth...
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Support has focused on the high costs of incarcerationJanuary 31, 2014WASHINGTON - The Senate Judiciary Committee voted, 13-5, on Thursday to slash mandatory-minimum sentences for many nonviolent drug offenses and to make retroactive a 2010 law reducing the sentences for possession of crack cocai...