Has a 2018 criminal justice reform bill led to the release of large numbers of prisoners?
In the first year after passage of the 2018 First Step Act, approximately 3,100 prisoners were granted early release. That sum may seem large at first, but it represents less than 1.5% of federal inmates and less than 0.15% of the approximately 2.3 million people incarcerated in the U.S. across local jails, state prison systems and federal prisons. The Sentencing Project, an advocate of less incarceration, notes that up to a third of those released from federal custody were transferred to custody at other levels, and that 43,000 sentences had been shortened under earlier changes to federal laws and guidelines dating back to 2010.
The 2018 law included various long-discussed reforms such as new sentencing provisions for certain drug-related offenses, amended minimum sentences and a mandate to evaluate and reduce recidivism risks.
