The United States Sentencing Commission is considering retroactive changes that could mean shortened sentences for nearly 20,000 federal prisoners convicted of crack cocaine related offenses.

CNN reports that “the commission heard Tuesday from a federal judge and advocacy groups who favor making the changes retroactive, and from the Justice Department and others who oppose it.”

Guidelines that already went into effect on November 1 have reduced the disparity between sentences for crack possession convictions and convictions for possessing cocaine in powder form.

Previously, a criminal found guilty of having one gram of crack cocaine would receive the same penalty as someone with 100 grams of the powder version. The new guidelines will shorten sentences for crack cocaine users by about 25 percent.

19,500 inmates would be released from prison sooner than expected if the new guidelines become retroactive.

To read the entire article from CNN, link here:

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