Earlier today, the U.S. Sentencing Commission published an updated report on mandatory minimum penalties for drug offenders.  The comprehensive report surveys recent sentencing trends for drug offenders subject to mandatory minimum penalties, as well as the impact such penalties have had on the Bureau of Prisons’ inmate population.  Among the key findings was the impact of the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010.  According to the report, as a result of the Act, “the number of offenders convicted of a drug mandatory minimum penalty has decreased by 44.7 percent since fiscal year 2010, falling from 15,831 offenders to 8,760 such offenders in fiscal year 2016. The downward trend in the prevalence of offenders convicted of such penalties occurred across all drug types, but the largest decrease occurred in the context of crack cocaine offenders. Following the passage of the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010, the percent of crack cocaine offenders convicted of an offense carrying a mandatory minimum penalty has fallen from 80.1 percent in fiscal year 2010 to 46.6 percent in fiscal year 2016.” https://www.ussc.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/research-and-publications/research-publications/2017/20171025_Drug-Mand-Min.pdf