U.S. Sentencing Commission Suggests Lowering Sentences for Drug Trafficking

The U.S. Sentencing Commission Jan. 9 proposed amendments to the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines that would lower the recommendations for drug trafficking sentences.

The proposed amendments reflect the commission’s “priority of reducing costs of incarceration and overcapacity of prisons, without endangering public safety,” the commission’s chair, Judge Patti B. Saris, said in a statement released the same day.

The proposal would lower offense levels in the drug table by two levels. This would reduce sentences for eligible offenders by approximately 11 months and reduce the federal prison population by approximately 6,550 inmates after five years, the commission said.

Saris reported that ...