Allan Lengel
ticklethewire.com
A wave of prisoners could be released this week as a result of a change in sentencing for crack cocaine violations.
The Associated Press reports that nearly 2,000 federal prisoners will be eligible for early release Tuesday as a result of a bill signed into law by President Obama last year that reduced the disparities between those convicted of crack cocaine charges and powder cocaine.
Critics argued that the crack cocaine laws discriminated against black defendants. AP reported that the U.S. Sentencing Commission is applying that law to past cocaine convictions, which could mean an estimated 12,000 inmates could eventually benefit.
