U.S. Sentencing Commission
First Step Act of 2018 Resentencing Provisions
Retroactivity Data Report

June 2019

Introduction
As part of its ongoing mission, the United States Sentencing Commission provides
Congress, the judiciary, the executive branch, and the general public with data extracted from
and based on sentencing documents submitted by courts to the Commission.1 Data is reported on
an annual basis in the Commission’s Annual Report and Sourcebook of Federal Sentencing
Statistics.2
The Commission also reports preliminary data for an on-going fiscal year in order to
provide real-time analysis of sentencing practices in the federal courts. Since 2005, the
Commission has published a series of quarterly reports that are similar in format and
methodology to tables and figures produced in the Sourcebook of Federal Sentencing Statistics.
The quarterly reports contain cumulative data for the on-going fiscal year (i.e., data from the start
of the fiscal year through the most current quarter).
On three separate occasions in recent years the Commission has amended the federal
sentencing guidelines to lower the punishment for certain drug trafficking crimes, and also voted
to apply those reductions retroactively.3 Under section 3582(c)(2) of title 18, courts were
authorized to reduce the sentences of incarcerated offenders pursuant to those retroactive
guideline amendments. The Commission has periodically reported on the number of offenders
who received a sentence reduction under those retroactive amendments and presented other data
regarding those cases.4
One of those guideline amendments incorporated into the sentencing guidelines the
statutory changes Congress made in the penalty provision for crack cocaine offenders through
the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010.5 On December 21, 2018, the President signed into law the First
Step Act of 2018.6 Section 404 of that act provides that any defendant sentenced before the
effective date of the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 (August 3, 2010) who did not receive the
1

In each federal felony or Class A misdemeanor case, sentencing courts are required to submit the following
documents to the Commission: the Judgment and Commitment Order, the Statement of Reasons, the plea agreement
(if applicable), the indictment or other charging document, and the Presentence Report. See 28 U.S.C. § 994(w).

2

Electronic copies of the 1995-2018 Annual Report and Sourcebook of Federal Sentencing Statistics are available
at the Commission’s website at www.ussc.gov.
3

See Amendment 706, as amended by Amendment 711, and made retroactive by Amendment 713 (the 2007 Crack
Cocaine Amendment); Amendment 750, made retroactive by Amendment 759 (the 2010 Fair Sentencing Act
Amendment); and Amendment 782 (the 2014 Drug Guidelines Amendment, often referred to as "Drugs Minus
Two").

4

These retroactivity analyses and data reports are available at https://www.ussc.gov/research/datareports/retroactivity-analyses-and-data-reports.
5

Pub L. No. 111-220 (2010). Section 2 of the Fair Sentencing Act increased the quantity of crack cocaine that
triggered mandatory minimum penalties. Section 3 of the Fair Sentencing Act eliminated the statutory mandatory
minimum sentence for simple possession of crack cocaine.

6

Pub. L. No. 115-391 (2018).

1

benefit of the statutory penalty changes made by that Act is eligible for a sentence reduction as if
Sections 2 and 3 of the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 were in effect at the time the offender was
sentenced. The First Step Act authorizes the defendant, the Director of the Bureau of Prisons,
the attorney for the Government, or the court to make a motion to reduce an offender’s sentence.
The data in this report represents information concerning motions for a reduced sentence
pursuant to Section 404 of the First Step Act which the courts have granted. The data in this
report reflects all motions granted through April 30, 2019 and for which court documentation
was received, coded, and edited at the Commission by May 17, 2019.

2

Table 1
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF GRANTED MOTIONS FOR SENTENCE
REDUCTIONS DUE TO RESENTENCING PROVISIONS OF FIRST STEP ACT
District
TOTAL
Middle Florida
South Carolina
Western Virginia
Southern Florida
Eastern Virginia
Central Illinois
Eastern Tennessee
Northern Illinois
Northern Ohio
Eastern Louisiana
Eastern North Carolina
Western North Carolina
Northern Florida
Southern Iowa
Middle Pennsylvania
Eastern Missouri
Southern Georgia
Eastern Arkansas
Western Missouri
Rhode Island
Southern Illinois
Northern Indiana
Southern Indiana
Kansas
Maryland
Central California
Eastern Texas
Western Texas
Eastern Michigan
Western Wisconsin
Middle Georgia
Eastern Pennsylvania
Western Pennsylvania
Massachusetts
Northern New York
Western Louisiana
Western Michigan
Eastern California
Maine
Western New York
New Jersey
Southern Texas
Eastern Wisconsin
Nebraska
Southern Alabama
Western Kentucky
Northern Iowa

N
1,051
78
73
59
52
47
34
31
31
30
29
28
27
25
24
21
20
20
19
19
17
17
17
17
17
16
16
13
13
12
12
12
11
11
10
9
9
9
9
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
7
7

%
100.0
7.4
6.9
5.6
4.9
4.5
3.2
2.9
2.9
2.9
2.8
2.7
2.6
2.4
2.3
2.0
1.9
1.9
1.8
1.8
1.6
1.6
1.6
1.6
1.6
1.5
1.5
1.2
1.2
1.1
1.1
1.1
1.0
1.0
1.0
0.9
0.9
0.9
0.9
0.8
0.8
0.8
0.8
0.8
0.8
0.8
0.7
0.7

SOURCE: U.S. Sentencing Commission, First Step Act Datafile.

3

District

N

%

Northern Alabama
Connecticut
Southern Ohio
District of Columbia
Northern Texas
Eastern Kentucky
Northern West Virginia
North Dakota
Northern Oklahoma
Western Oklahoma
New Hampshire
Northern Mississippi
Southern Mississippi
Middle Tennessee
Alaska
Oregon
Western Washington
Colorado
Northern Georgia
Puerto Rico
Eastern New York
Vermont
Middle Louisiana
Western Arkansas
Minnesota
South Dakota
Northern California
Southern New York
Delaware
Virgin Islands
Middle North Carolina
Southern West Virginia
Western Tennessee
Arizona
Southern California
Guam
Hawaii
Idaho
Montana
Nevada
Northern Mariana Islands
Eastern Washington
New Mexico
Eastern Oklahoma
Utah
Wyoming
Middle Alabama

7
5
5
4
4
4
3
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

0.7
0.5
0.5
0.4
0.4
0.4
0.3
0.3
0.3
0.3
0.2
0.2
0.2
0.2
0.2
0.2
0.2
0.2
0.2
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0

Table 2
YEAR OF ORIGINAL SENTENCE OF OFFENDERS
RECEIVING SENTENCE REDUCTIONS DUE TO
RESENTENCING PROVISIONS OF FIRST STEP ACT1
Fiscal Year

N

Total
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
1999
1998
1997
1996
1995
1994
1993
1992
1991
1990
1

1,045
2
2
32
145
145
134
165
97
76
62
51
35
21
17
14
12
4
9
8
5
3
2
1
3

Of the 1,051 cases in which the court granted a motion for a sentence reduction due to

Section 404 of the First Step Act of 2018, six were excluded from this analysis because the
cases cannot be matched with an original case in the Commission's records.
SOURCE: U.S. Sentencing Commission, First Step Act Datafile.

4

%
100.0
0.2
0.2
3.1
13.9
13.9
12.8
15.8
9.3
7.3
5.9
4.9
3.3
2.0
1.6
1.3
1.1
0.4
0.9
0.8
0.5
0.3
0.2
0.1
0.3

Table 3

ORIGIN OF GRANTED MOTIONS FOR SENTENCE REDUCTIONS DUE TO
RESENTENCING PROVISIONS OF FIRST STEP ACT1

CIRCUIT
TOTAL

N

Defendant
N

%

Director BOP
N
%

Attorney for
the Government
N
%

Court
N

%

1,180

931

78.9

0

0.0

139

11.8

110

9.3

3

3

100.0

0

0.0

0

0.0

0

0.0

FIRST CIRCUIT

45

37

82.2

0

0.0

8

17.8

0

0.0

SECOND CIRCUIT

29

23

79.3

0

0.0

5

17.2

1

3.4

THIRD CIRCUIT

61

51

83.6

0

0.0

10

16.4

0

0.0

252

236

93.7

0

0.0

2

0.8

14

5.6

FIFTH CIRCUIT

97

63

64.9

0

0.0

17

17.5

17

17.5

SIXTH CIRCUIT

115

94

81.7

0

0.0

15

13.0

6

5.2

SEVENTH CIRCUIT

192

136

70.8

0

0.0

56

29.2

0

0.0

EIGHTH CIRCUIT

104

75

72.1

0

0.0

4

3.8

25

24.0

NINTH CIRCUIT

48

32

66.7

0

0.0

16

33.3

0

0.0

TENTH CIRCUIT

25

25

100.0

0

0.0

0

0.0

0

0.0

209

156

74.6

0

0.0

6

2.9

47

22.5

D.C. CIRCUIT

FOURTH CIRCUIT

ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
1

Of the 1,051 cases in which the court granted a motion for a sentence reduction due to Section 404 of the First Step Act of 2018, nine cases were excluded from this analysis
because the information received by the Commission prevented a determination of motion origin. Additionally, courts may cite multiple origins for a motion; consequently,
the total number of origins cited generally exceeds the total number of cases. In this table, 1,180 origins were cited for the 1,042 cases.
SOURCE: U.S. Sentencing Commission, First Step Act Datafile.

5

Table 4
DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF OFFENDERS
RECEIVING SENTENCE REDUCTIONS DUE TO
RESENTENCING PROVISIONS OF FIRST STEP ACT
Demographics

N

%

Race/Ethnicity
White
Black
Hispanic
Other
Total

45
955
40
6
1,046

4.3
91.3
3.8
0.6
100.0

Citizenship
U.S. Citizen
Non-Citizen
Total

1,018
26
1,044

97.5
2.5
100.0

1,033
17
1,050

98.4
1.6
100.0

Gender
Male
Female
Total

Average Age at Original Sentence

32

Average Age at Resentencing

45

1

Of the 1,051 cases in which the court granted a motion for a sentence reduction due to Section
404 of the First Step Act of 2018, cases were excluded from each section of this table due to the
following reasons: missing race information (5), missing citizenship information (7),
missing gender information (1), and missing age information (10).
SOURCE: U.S. Sentencing Commission, First Step Act Datafile.

6

Table 5
SELECTED SENTENCING FACTORS FOR OFFENDERS
RECEIVING SENTENCE REDUCTIONS DUE TO RESENTENCING
PROVISIONS OF FIRST STEP ACT1
Sentencing Factors

%

Weapon
Weapon Specific Offense Characteristic
Firearms Mandatory Minimum Applied

21.2
21.2

Safety Valve

0.4

Guideline Role Adjustments
Aggravating Role (USSG §3B1.1)
Mitigating Role (USSG §3B1.2)
Obstruction Adjustment (USSG §3C1.1)

7.1
1.0
6.5

Sentence Relative to the Guideline Range
Within Range
Above Range
Below Range

72.9
1.0
26.2

Criminal History Category
I
II
III
IV
V
VI

3.8
5.9
11.6
9.4
6.3
63.0

1

Of the 1,051 cases in which the court granted a motion for a sentence reduction due to Section 404 of the
First Step Act of 2018, six were excluded from this analysis because the cases cannot be matched with an
original case in the Commission's records.
SOURCE: U.S. Sentencing Commission, First Step Act Datafile.

7

Table 6
EXTENT OF SENTENCE REDUCTIONS DUE
TO RESENTENCING PROVISIONS OF FIRST STEP ACT1
Mean
CIRCUIT
District
TOTAL

N

Current
Sentence
In Months

New
Sentence
In Months

Decrease In
Months From
Current Sentence2

Percent
Decrease From
Current Sentence

696

239

166

73

29.4

3
3

195
195

132
132

64
64

33.9
33.9

FIRST CIRCUIT
Maine
Massachusetts
New Hampshire
Puerto Rico
Rhode Island

13
6
4
1
0
2

258
228
322
----

192
181
231
----

66
47
91
----

22.6
20.4
22.1
----

SECOND CIRCUIT
Connecticut
New York
Eastern
Northern
Southern
Western
Vermont

11
0

248
--

170
--

78
--

28.4
--

1
9
0
1
0

-250
----

-173
----

-77
----

-27.2
----

THIRD CIRCUIT
Delaware
New Jersey
Pennsylvania
Eastern
Middle
Western
Virgin Islands

38
0
7

225
-201

169
-148

56
-53

23.9
-26.3

4
16
11
0

237
235
222
--

167
174
178
--

70
61
45
--

28.4
24.5
19.7
--

159
5

226
258

159
184

67
74

28.1
27.8

26
0
3
64

194
-307
235

142
-201
161

52
-105
74

26.3
-28.7
30.0

15
43

229
220

169
155

60
65

26.3
27.4

3
0

234
--

179
--

55
--

22.5
--

D.C. CIRCUIT
District of Columbia

FOURTH CIRCUIT
Maryland
North Carolina
Eastern
Middle
Western
South Carolina
Virginia
Eastern
Western
West Virginia
Northern
Southern

8

Table 6 (cont.)
Mean
CIRCUIT

Current
Sentence
In Months

New
Sentence
In Months

Decrease In
Months From
2
Current Sentence

Percent
Decrease From
Current Sentence

District

N

FIFTH CIRCUIT
Louisiana
Eastern
Middle
Western
Mississippi
Northern
Southern
Texas
Eastern
Northern
Southern
Western

66

232

149

83

35.3

28
0
3

224
-260

132
-143

91
-117

40.0
-45.8

0
2

---

---

---

---

13
2
5
13

243
-218
225

170
-154
147

73
-63
78

30.1
-27.3
34.6

SIXTH CIRCUIT
Kentucky
Eastern
Western
Michigan
Eastern
Western
Ohio
Northern
Southern
Tennessee
Eastern
Middle
Western

59

238

161

78

32.0

0
7

-223

-150

-73

-33.4

6
5

245
234

179
164

66
70

29.5
29.4

25
1

245
--

151
--

94
--

36.7
--

14
1
0

226
---

163
---

63
---

27.1
---

SEVENTH CIRCUIT
Illinois
Central
Northern
Southern
Indiana
Northern
Southern
Wisconsin
Eastern
Western

74

241

161

80

30.3

15
9
13

251
235
253

163
184
172

88
51
81

30.1
20.7
32.2

11
16

231
224

164
116

66
108

23.0
43.6

1
9

-266

-201

-65

-23.2

EIGHTH CIRCUIT
Arkansas
Eastern
Western
Iowa
Northern
Southern
Minnesota
Missouri
Eastern
Western
Nebraska
North Dakota
South Dakota

69

246

172

74

29.2

7
1

278
--

192
--

86
--

33.8
--

6
20
0

247
228
--

164
163
--

83
65
--

33.0
28.4
--

11
19
2
3
0

209
272
-257
--

171
172
-175
--

38
100
-82
--

18.2
34.9
-30.0
--

9

Table 6 (cont.)
Mean
CIRCUIT
District

N

Current
Sentence
In Months

New
Sentence
In Months

Decrease In
Months From
2
Current Sentence

Percent
Decrease From
Current Sentence

NINTH CIRCUIT
Alaska
Arizona
California
Central
Eastern
Northern
Southern
Guam
Hawaii
Idaho
Montana
Nevada
Northern Mariana Islands
Oregon
Washington
Eastern
Western

27
2
0

236
---

161
---

75
---

31.1
---

16
9
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

245
231
----------

161
167
----------

84
64
----------

33.8
27.5
----------

0
0

---

---

---

---

TENTH CIRCUIT
Colorado
Kansas
New Mexico
Oklahoma
Eastern
Northern
Western
Utah
Wyoming

19
0
13
0

255
-234
--

171
-143
--

83
-91
--

32.3
-37.2
--

0
3
3
0
0

-379
220
---

-303
161
---

-76
59
---

-19.9
23.9
---

158

252

179

72

28.2

0
1
0

----

----

----

----

73
14
50

249
285
252

175
184
188

74
101
64

29.3
35.5
24.6

11
2
7

233
-235

166
-168

67
-66

29.0
-27.5

ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
Alabama
Middle
Northern
Southern
Florida
Middle
Northern
Southern
Georgia
Middle
Northern
Southern
1

Of the 1,051 cases in which the court granted a motion for a sentence reduction due to Section 404 of the First Step Act of 2018, six cases were
excluded from this analysis because the cases cannot be matched with an original case in the Commission's records. Of the remaining 1,045 cases, 349
cases were excluded from this analysis because the offender was sentenced to time served but the resulting term of imprisonment could not be determined from
the records received by the Commission.

2

The average sentence lengths and the average decrease in months from the current sentence are rounded to the nearest whole number. Consequently, the average
decrease in months from the current sentence may not equal the difference between the rounded average current sentence and the rounded average new sentence.
SOURCE: U.S. Sentencing Commission, First Step Act Datafile.

10