As of Feb. 1, 2024, eligible defendants awaiting sentencing, and even those already serving sentences, will get the benefit of a new Amendment to the Sentencing Guidelines that would significantly reduce the time they spend in prison.

On April 5, 2023, the U.S. Sentencing Commission voted to make two important amendments to the sentencing guidelines, namely Amendment 821 Part A and Part B. The focus of this article is on Part B, which is a new Chapter 4 Guideline under Section 4C1.1, also known as the adjustment for zero-point offenders (“Zero Point Offender Adjustment”), that allows for a two-level decrease in the offense level for defendants who have zero criminal history points.