Thousands of federal drug inmates set for early release

WASHINGTON (AP) — Thousands of federal inmates serving sentences for drug crimes are set for early release next month under a cost-cutting measure intended to reduce the nation’s prison population.

The more than 5,500 inmates set to go free in November are among the first of what could eventually be tens of thousands eligible for release. The US Sentencing Commission voted last year to retroactively apply substantially lower recommended sentences for those convicted of drug-related felonies.

Under the program, a judge reviews each prisoner’s case to decide if his or her release would jeopardize public safety. Most of those eligible for consideration have already served 10 years or more.

The releases are part of a national bipartisan effort to rethink decades-long sentences for drug offenders, which are roughly half the federal prison population.