2018: Schweikert 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, Schweikert 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]