Analysis of the Impact of Guideline Implementation of the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 if the Amendment Were Applied Retroactively

May 20, 2011 On June 30, 2011, the U.S. Sentencing Commission voted to adopt a retroactive crack guideline amendment to the Fair Sentencing Act (FSA) that reduced the ratio between crack cocaine and powder cocaine offenses. Before the FSA was enacted in August 2010, people convicted of crack trafficking were sentenced to mandatory federal prison terms of at least five years; quantity of crack triggering the mandatory minimum sentence was smaller than the quantity of powder cocaine that would trigger the mandatory minimum sentence. This memorandum estimates the impact of portions of the amendment, if made retroactively applicable, on . . .