A Federal Medical Center-Rochester inmate will be freed early as a result of a nationwide reduction in prison sentences for crack cocaine offenses.
Dwayne Travoy Dillard, 32, is one of an estimated 12,000 inmates who will be freed early due to a recent change in sentencing guidelines. On Tuesday, Dillard's sentence was reduced by 5 1/2 years by Chief Judge Michael Davis in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis.
Congress passed a law last year that substantially lowered recommended sentences for people convicted of crack cocaine crimes, ranging from possession to trafficking. The idea was to fix a longstanding disparity in punishments for crack and powder cocaine crimes.
Dillard was convicted in 2003 for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute crack cocaine, according to federal court records. On Tuesday, his sentence of 15 1/2 years was reduced to 10 years and one month.
Before Dillard's sentence was reduced on Tuesday, the Bureau of Prisons had listed his estimated release date as May 19, 2015.
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Earlier this year, Dillard alleged that a guard at FMC-Rochester had "defiled and defamed" the Quran by throwing the holy book into the trash.
Dillard's attorney, Katherine Menendez, declined comment. FMC-Rochester spokesman Dan Cansino was not immediately available for comment.
