2018: Fitzpatrick Voted For The First Step Act Which Amended Federal
Sentencing Laws Such As The Three Strike Rule And Would Allow Inmates To
Get Earned Time Credits For Earlier Release. In December 2018,
Fitzpatrick voted for the First Step Act, a bill that reformed the
federal criminal justice system. According to Congressional Quarterly,
"This bill revises federal sentencing laws, including reducing the
'three strikes' penalty for drug felonies from life behind bars to 25
years and retroactively limiting the disparity in sentencing guidelines
between crack and powder cocaine offenses. It requires the Justice
Department to develop an evidence-based prisoner risk and needs
assessment system to evaluate prisoners' recidivism risk so they can
earn time in prerelease custody at the end of their term. The measure
also generally prohibits restraining pregnant prisoners and expands the
information required to be collected by the National Prisoner Statistics
Program." The vote was on a motion to suspend the rules and agree to the
Senate amendment to the House amendment. The House agreed to the motion,
thereby passing the bill, by a vote of 358 to 36. The bill was then sent
to the president, who signed it into law. [House Vote 448,
12/20/18; Congressional
Quarterly,
12/19/18;
Congressional Actions, S.
756]
The Bill Did Not Cover The States, But According To The CBO, The
Bill Would Shave About 53,000 Years Off Of Federal Sentences Over
The Next Ten Years. According to Congressional Quarterly, "The
bill, which does not cover state jails and prisons, would through
reductions in sentencing, shave the equivalent of 53,000 years off
the sentences of federal inmates over the next 10 years, according
to the Congressional Budget Office." [Congressional Quarterly,
12/19/18]
The First Step Act Reduced Mandatory Minimums For Some Drug Crimes
And Amended The Mandatory Minimum For The Three Strikes Rule.
According to Congressional Quarterly, "The measure reduces the
severity of some minimum prison sentences. Specifically, the
mandatory minimum sentences for serious violence or weighty drug
charges would decrease by five years to 15 years. The federal 'three
strikes' rule, which prescribes a life sentence for three or more
convictions that includes drug trafficking, would instead trigger a
25-year sentence but would also be expanded to apply when one of the
crimes is a serious violent felony. Serious drug felonies that now
result in an automatic 20-year minimum sentence would be reduced to
15 years. And an automatic trigger that adds 25 years if a defendant
was convicted of two or more violent or trafficking charges while
holding a gun would now apply only to people with prior records of
similar offenses. The shortened mandatory sentences would not apply
retroactively." [Congressional Quarterly,
12/19/18]
Legislation Expands The Number Of Defendants Eligible For
Sentences Under Mandatory Minimums. According to Congressional
Quarterly, "In federal sentencing guidelines, defendants are
eligible for sentences below the statutory minimum for certain
nonviolent, non-managerial drug offenders with little or no criminal
history, known as a 'safety valve.' Current law applies this safety
valve for defendants with no more than one prior criminal point,
i.e. generally a minor misdemeanor. The measure expands the existing
safety valve to include offenders with up to four criminal history
points, excluding one-point offenses. However, offenders with
three-point felony convictions (sentences of more than 13 months) or
prior two-point violent offenses (violent offenses with sentences of
at least 60 days) will not be eligible for safety valve unless there
is a judicial finding that the prior offenses substantially
overstate the defendant's criminal history and danger of recidivism.
Under the measure, a judge may not apply the safety valve unless the
defendant has 'fully cooperated' with law enforcement and has not
used or threatened to use violence, caused death or serious bodily
injury, or was an organizer, leader, manager or supervisor of others
in connection with the offense." [Congressional Quarterly,
12/19/18]
Legislation Increased "Good Time Credits" From 47 Days Earned Per
Year To 54 For Things Like Good Behavior; Change Would Be
Retroactive. According to Vox "The bill would increase 'good time
credits' that inmates can earn. Inmates who avoid a disciplinary
record can currently get credits of up to 47 days per year
incarcerated. The bill increases the cap to 54, allowing
well-behaved inmates to cut their prison sentence by an additional
week for each year they're incarcerated. The change applies
retroactively, which could allow some prisoners --- as many as 4,000
--- to qualify for release the day that the bill goes into effect."
[Vox,
12/11/18]
Legislation Would Allow "Earned Time Credits" By Participating In
More Vocational Programs To Allow Them To Be Released Early.
According to Vox "The bill would allow inmates to get 'earned time
credits' by participating in more vocational and rehabilitative
programs. Those credits would allow them to be released early to
halfway houses or home confinement. Not only could this mitigate
prison overcrowding, but the hope is that the education programs
will reduce the likelihood that an inmate will commit another crime
once released and, as a result, reduce both crime and incarceration
in the long term. (There's research showing that education programs
do reduce recidivism.)" [Vox,
12/11/18]
Legislation Excluded Certain Crimes Such As Child Sex Trafficking
From Earned Time Off Credits. According to Congressional
Quarterly, "The bill identifies a number of crimes that would be
excluded from earning time off credits, including sex trafficking of
children, sexual abuse of a child, child pornography offenses,
recruitment of child soldiers, arson, domestic assault by a habitual
offender, carjacking resulting in serious bodily injury, prisoner
escape, and other high level offenses. Additionally, prisoners
subject to a final order of removal as undocumented immigrants, who
were convicted of fentanyl or heroin offenses involving five to ten
year mandatory minimums who were leaders in the offense, or who
brandished or discharged a firearms while committing a crime are not
eligible for time credits." [Congressional Quarterly,
12/19/18]
Legislation Made The 2010 Fair Sentencing Act, Which Reduced The
Sentencing Disparity Between Crack Cocaine And Powder Cocaine,
Retroactive. According to Congressional Quarterly, "In 2010,
Congress passed the Fair Sentencing Act (PL 111-220) which reduced
the disparity between powder and crack cocaine sentencing guidelines
from a 100 to 1 ratio to an 18-to-1 ratio. It also increased, to 28
grams, from the previous 5 grams, the amount of crack cocaine
possession that would trigger a mandatory five-year prison sentence.
It also increased, to 280 grams, from 50 grams, the amount of crack
cocaine that would trigger a 10-year minimum prison sentence. The
measure also eliminated the five-year mandatory minimum prison term
for a first-time possession of crack cocaine. The bill applies the
law retroactively, permitting prisoners convicted before Aug. 3,
2010 (when the Fair Sentencing Act became law) to petition a court
to reduce his or her sentence to the more recent lower terms."
[Congressional Quarterly,
12/19/18]
Bill Eliminated The Mandatory Minimum For A First Time Offender
Using A Firearm During A Violent Or Drug Crime. According to
Congressional Quarterly, "The bill clarifies that the enhanced
mandatory minimum sentence for using a firearm during a crime of
violence or a drug crime is limited to offenders who have previously
been convicted and served a sentence for such an offense.
Previously, courts have interpreted the law as also applying to
first-time offenders instead of repeat offenders, which in some
cases brought decades-long sentences for charges brought on a single
indictment." [Congressional Quarterly,
12/19/18]
Bill Banned The Shackling Of Pregnant Women During Childbirth.
According to Vox, "And it would make other changes aimed at
improving conditions in prisons, including banning the shackling of
women during childbirth and requiring that inmates are placed closer
to their families." [Vox,
12/11/18]