U.S. Sentencing Commission Releases Data on Sentence Reductions

The Federal Docket

May 21, 2021

The U.S. Sentencing Commission just issued a “Retroactivity Data Report” regarding sentence reductions under the First Step Act’s resentencing provisions for crack-cocaine offenders, Section 404. Section 404 made retroactive the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010, which lowered sentences for crack-cocaine offenders.

According to the Commission, through September 2020, 3,705. offenders have been granted sentence reductions under Section 404. The data also includes a break down for what number of offenders were in the highest criminal history category (65%), how many received a firearm enhancement (45%), and the average reduction they received (6 years). The average original sentence was 274 months, and the average reduced sentence is 202 months. The vast majority of motions (87%) for reductions were brought by defendants.

Click here to read the USSC’s report on sentence reductions.

Tom Church - Tom is a trial and appellate lawyer focusing on criminal defense and civil trials. Tom is the author of "The Federal Docket" and is a contributor to Mercer Law Review's Annual Survey in the areas of federal sentencing guidelines and criminal law. Tom graduated with honors from the University of Georgia Law School where he served as a research assistant to the faculty in the areas of constitutional law and civil rights litigation. Read Tom's reviews on AVVO. Follow Tom on Linkedin.

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