Justice Department to release 6,000 drug offenders, more slated to follow

In this June 18, 2015 photo, prisoners stand in a crowded lunch line during a prison tour at Elmore Correctional Facility in Elmore, Ala. Alabama is trying to stave off federal intervention in its overcrowded prison system with a reform package approved this spring that includes a bond issue for additional prison space and a new law making sweeping changes to sentencing and probation standards. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

The vote cut sentences retroactively, meaning that even more drug offenders could eventually be approved for early release nationwide.

The Justice Department recently announced that about 6,000 drug offenders will be released from federal prisons by the end of the month. The move comes about a year after the U.S. Sentencing Commission voted to reduce sentences for prisoners punished over the past three decades.

The vote cut sentences retroactively, meaning that nearly 46,000 drug offenders could eventually be approved for early release nationwide.

A little over 500 of the prisoners slated for release are currently serving at facilities in California. Most of them will go to halfway houses ahead of probation.

Take Two’s A Martinez spoke with Washington Post reporter Sari Horwitz about the timeline for the releases and what this move reveals about justice system’s changing stance on drug offenders.

Press the blue play button above to hear more.