Nearly 600 of the more than 5,500 federal inmates serving sentences for drug crimes and scheduled for early release from prison next month are in Texas, which is the most of any state.
The release is part of a cost-cutting measure intended to reduce the nation's huge prison population.
U.S. officials estimate that more prisoners sentenced in the federal judiciary's Western District of Texas are set for early release than any other region in the country, the San Antonio Express-News reported, citing figures provided by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons and U.S. Sentencing Commission.
Texas judicial districts likely have so many offenders affected by the new guidelines because of the large number of low-level drug smugglers caught at the border, said San Antonio defense attorney John Convery, who is a former federal prosecutor.
The changes don't apply to violent offenders or those who have led smuggling rings or criminal groups, Convery said.
"It's a general recognition that the guidelines were inviting judges to sentence people too harshly," Convery told the newspaper.
The inmates set to go free in November are among the first of what could eventually be tens of thousands eligible for release.The Sentencing Commission voted last year to retroactively apply substantially lower recommended sentences for those convicted of drug-related felonies.
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The commission, an independent panel that sets federal sentencing policy, estimated that the prison terms would be cut by an average of 25 months.
Under the program, a judge reviews each prisoner's case to decide if his or her release would jeopardize public safety. Most of those eligible for consideration have already served 10 years or more.
The changes are part of a national bipartisan effort to rethink decades-long sentences for drug offenders, who make up roughly half of the federal prison population.
