A freed man faces life back in prison after a Supreme Court ruling on the First Step Act

14 hours ago by MicroWave to c/news

Patrick Dewayne Smith is rebuilding his life after serving 13 years in prison on drug charges. But after a Supreme Court ruling in May he could be sent back for life.

Two years after his release from prison, Patrick Dewayne Smith spends Sundays with his family in a modest brick church with a white steeple in rural Tennessee. He works two jobs. He goes to ball games to cheer for nieces and nephews he had never met. After serving 13 years for a nonviolent drug conviction, he is trying to rebuild his life.

Now Smith could be sent back to prison for the rest of it.

A federal judge released him in 2024 under rules adopted after Congress passed the First Step Act, a landmark criminal justice law during Donald Trump’s first term. But the Supreme Court ruled in May that people sentenced under older, harsher laws cannot rely on the disparity between their sentences and current penalties to seek early compassionate release.

thesohoriots 46 points 14 hours ago

Some courts had concluded the use of the word [“and”] indeed means “and,” but others decided that it means “or.” A defendant’s eligibility for a shorter sentence depended on the outcome.

For fuck’s sake.

path: 0 26286449, hotness: undefined, score: 46, children: 2
testfactor 8 points 12 hours ago

I ctrl+f'd the article and can't find that quote in it. Can you point me to it? Or is it from another source?

path: 0 26286449 26287246, hotness: undefined, score: 8, children: 1
thesohoriots 20 points 12 hours ago path: 0 26286449 26287246 26287350, hotness: undefined, score: 20, children: 0
Zedstrian 13 points 14 hours ago path: 0 26286176, hotness: undefined, score: 13, children: 3
testfactor 8 points 12 hours ago

And the original law that let him get out early in the first place was passed under Trump #1 and championed by Jared Kushner. It turns out there's not a clear partisan line on this one.

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meco03211 12 points 12 hours ago

Wonder who kushner wanted to save.

path: 0 26286176 26287275 26287330, hotness: undefined, score: 12, children: 1
Lodespawn 9 points 8 hours ago

I Jeffguess we'll never know..

path: 0 26286176 26287275 26287330 26289389, hotness: undefined, score: 9, children: 0
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