South Florida Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog
The office of the US Attorney announced that several thousands of men and women in federal prison for conviction of federal drug laws will be eligible for early release. The review process means sentences that were given out in the past will be reduced, significantly reduced. That means, and this will rock a lot of worlds….those already serving federal prison sentences can be released early.
These are the criteria:
1. They are serving a federal sentence that would likely be significantly lower if sentenced today (the new policy date is 2014) because of intervening changes in law or policy;
2. They have served at least ten years of the sentence imposed;
3. They are relatively low-level offenders who have no ties to any criminal organizations or gangs;
4. They have relatively little criminal history, both as a matter of quality and quantity;
5. They exhibit a record of good conduct while incarcerated; and
6. They do not have a history of violence.
Deputy Attorney General James Cole made the announcement in April 2014 about this historic event; historic because it has never happened before, and because it may be nullified or cancelled when the current administration leaves. The American Bar Association, the Federal Public Defenders, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers are all on board and available to place you with an attorney who can begin the process of sentence reduction.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of federal prisoners will qualify for this clemency/reduction of sentence program.
If you or a loved one or friend “fit” them, contact a local criminal defense attorney, if the case comes out of South Florida (Miami and/or Fort Lauderdale) contact a criminal defense attorney in this area.