Department Of Justice To Release Thousands Of Inmates

In just weeks, thousands of inmates will be released from federal prisons and sent to half-way houses. This is all a part of new changes by the Department of Justice.

The Department of Justice will release 6,000 inmates starting on October 30. This is one of the largest one-time prisoner releases in American history.

The Washington Post reports those inmates will go to halfway houses any time between October 30 and November 2. But one-third will be handed over to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to face possible deportation.

The U.S. Sentencing Commissions voted last summer to give amended sentences for some drug crimes. Most of the inmates were charged with crimes related to cocaine and meth.

The agency gave one year for individual cases to be reviewed, approved and gave time to prepare inmates for release. This move is in an effort to reduce prison overcrowding.

There are also 2,000 other inmates that were approved for release. But at this time there is no word on when they will get out.

The Obama administration has also been actively pursuing reforms, including changes to drug sentencing laws.