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Please note!
This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

Has a 2018 criminal-justice reform law reduced the number of minorities in prison?

By Seth Smalley
YES

Since the First Step Act was passed in December 2018, at least 2,376 people have received retroactive sentencing reductions, the vast majority of whom were minorities. In July 2019, more than 3,100 inmates were released for good conduct under the act. The law sought to retroactively reduce excessive federal sentences and ameliorate federal prison standards.

According to the U.S. Sentencing Commission, 91.4% of those receiving shorter sentences were Black prisoners and 3.7% were Hispanic.

In 2019, the incarceration rate for Black people was the lowest in 24 years, with 452,800 Black inmates in federal and state prisons, according to Bureau of Justice Statistics data. The rate has been falling steadily since 2009. Almost 2.3 million people of all races are still serving time across the U.S. justice system.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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