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RUMORS II – TAKE OUR INMATE.COM RUMOR QUIZ
In prison, “inmate.com” is an information site of almost mythical status. It’s omniscient, omnipresent, omnivorous, and almost always, always wrong.
Unsurprisingly, there really is an inmate.com, although it bears no resemblance to the ethereal website of legend.
On November 1, the Guidelines amendments proposed last April will become effective. Under 28 USC § 994(p), amendments proposed by May 1 must become effective by November 1 unless Congress votes otherwise. Congress has not done so, and with the House in turmoil and no apparent Senate interest in stopping the amendments, the amendments will be effective in eight days.
Somehow, in the 35 years we’ve had the Sentencing Guidelines, the date of “November 1” has taken on a mystical, legendary quality. This year’s no different, as my email inbox continues to be stuffed with questions about what may happen ten days from now.
Take our true-or-false test to see how current you are on the latest November 1st rumors now being featured on Inmate.com (the mythical one, not the penpal site):
(1) True or false: On November 1, the meth guidelines will be lowered by doing away with the “ice” enhancement.
FALSE. A district judge in SD Mississippi refused a few months ago to enhance for meth purity. It happens that this Judge is also Chairman of the Sentencing Commission, but nothing has been proposed on meth, let alone passed.
(2) True or false: On November 1, a new law will go into effect making 18 USC 924(c) prisoners eligible for FSA credits.
FALSE. The only way for 924(c) people to get FSA credits would be for Congress to amend the First Step Act. There is no proposal in front of either the House or the Senate to do that.
(3) True or false: On November 1, Congress is going to do away with the crime of conspiracy.
FALSE. Such a proposal, if anyone were daft enough to propose it, would never even make it to a committee hearing.
(4) True or false: On November 1, Biden is going to give all federal prisoners a year off of their sentences because of how miserable it was to be locked up for COVID.
FALSE. No one has even suggested such a thing, let alone seriously proposed it.
(5) True or false: On November 1, the new 65% law is going into effect.
FALSE. There ain’t no 65% law, never has been a 65% law, and probably never will be a 65% law.
(6) True or False: On November 1, the Time Reduction Fairy will appear to magically commute your sentence to ‘time served.’
FALSE, but no more false than all the other November 1 rumors.
Do you detect a trend here? This year, more happens on the 1st of November than All Saint’s Day… but not much. A couple of Guideline amendments go into effect and become retroactive. That’s good. Another one – compassionate release – will help a lot of people. But nothing will come out of Congress, nothing from the White House, very little from the BOP, and just the predictable annual amendment list from the Sentencing Commission.
And thus it will ever be.
– Thomas L. Root