Changes are coming in combating the issue of high sentencing rates for non-violent drug offenders in the U.S. The Justice Department has ordered that 6,000 prisoners that fall under this category be released between Oct. 30 and Nov. 2. 
The former inmates will be transferred to halfway houses while others may face deportation, Fox News reports. The prison facilities were given a year's notice that these individuals would eventually be released when the U.S. Sentencing Commission voted to reduce sentences last November. 
"Even with the Sentencing Commission’s reductions, drug offenders will have served substantial prison sentences. Moreover, these reductions are not automatic," Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates said in a statement.
"Under the Commission's directive, Federal judges are required to carefully consider public safety in deciding whether to reduce an inmate’s sentence."
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