As DOJ Implements Sentencing Reform Law
Read this Alabama Public Radio report about this First Step Act reform.
Thousands Freed From PrisonMost of the offenders being freed have been convicted of drug-related crimes and have been living in halfway houses across the United States in preparation for their release, acting BOP chief Hugh Hurwitz told reporters at a news conference in Washington.
About 900 of the inmates are subject to detention by local authorities or immigration officials, and their fate will be up to states or the Department of Homeland Security, he said.
The Justice Department announced that 250 more inmates who are elderly or terminally ill have transitioned into home confinement or compassionate-release programs since President Trump signed the law last December.
Those programs existed in some form before the First Step Act, but advocates for prisoners and their families said they were used only sparingly and now are somewhat easier to access.