6,000 inmates to be granted early release from prison

HOUSTON (FOX 26) - The federal government announces it will be granting an early release to about 6,000 thousand inmates. They are doing this to reduce overcrowded prisons and provide relief to inmates given harsh sentences in drug cases

This will be the first wave of releases which could potentially affect more than 40,000 prisoners over the next couple years. The mass release was triggered by a federal commission which lowered maximum sentences for drug offenders last year

There are currently more than 200,000 people serving time in federal prisons.

 That's up from about 25,000 in 1980.