The publication compares the recidivism rate of federal offenders released according to the retroactive application of the Drugs Minus Two Amendment (eligible offenders serving a previously imposed term of imprisonment to file a motion under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2) for a sentence reduction) with the recidivism rate of similar offenders. They completed their full sentences and were released before the effective date of the Drugs Minus Two Amendment. A total of 14,253 deferral offenders were studied and divided into the Retroactivity Group (7,121) and the Comparison Group (7,132). The Retroactivity Group release date was between May 2014 to October 29, 2015. The Comparison Group release date was between October 30, 2015, to May 2016. The Commission found no statistically significant difference in the recidivism rates of offenders who have released an estimated average of 37 months early through the retroactive application of the Drugs Minus Two Amendment. Similar offenders served their full sentences and were released before the Drugs Minus Two Amendment could be retroactively applied.

The U.S. Sentencing Commission is an independent agency in the judicial branch of government created by the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984. Congress enacted the SRA in response to widespread disparity in federal sentencing, ushering in a new era of federal sentencing through the creation of the Commission and the promulgation of federal sentencing guidelines.

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^{Keywords: Federal, Report, Length of Incarceration and Recidivism, Drugs Minus Two Amendment, Comparison groups, Federal Offenders, U.S. Sentencing Commission}

• Recidivism