The safety valve is a provision in the Sentencing Reform Act and the United States Federal Sentencing Guidelines that authorizes a sentence below the statutory minimum for certain nonviolent, non-managerial drug offenders with little or no criminal history.[1][2][3] A Senate version of the First Step Act was signed into law in December 2018, which expanded the safety valve to include offenders with up to four criminal history points, excluding 1-point offenses, such as minor misdemeanors.[4]
References
edit- ^ 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f)
- ^ U.S.S.G. §5C1.2, 11 August 2015
- ^ "22-340 PULSIFER V. UNITED STATES" (PDF). supremecourt.gov.
- ^ "The Revised First Step Act of 2018 (S.3649)" (PDF). judiciary.senate.gov.