U.S. Sentencing Commission proposes expanding guideline zones B and C to widen sentencing options

Amy Dezember, Senior Research Associate in the Office of Research and Data at the United States Sentencing Commission, said on Jan. 30, 2026 that the Commission voted to publish proposed amendments to the United States Sentencing Guidelines that would expand zones B and C of the sentencing table, increasing the availability of non‑imprisonment sentencing options for certain defendants.

The proposed Part B amendment would leave Zone A unchanged but broaden Zone B to include guideline ranges "from 4 to 57 months for criminal history category 1" and "1 to 18 months for the other criminal history categories," and would expand Zone C to include guideline ranges "from 51 to 108 months for criminal history category 1," "15 to 24 months for criminal history categories 2 through 4," and "15 to 21 months for criminal history categories 5 and 6," Dezember said. Under the proposal, the expanded Zone B would authorize probation with conditions of confinement, split sentences, or imprisonment; the expanded Zone C would authorize split sentences or imprisonment only.

The Commission presented fiscal year 2024 data to show how many people and which cases would be affected. "In fiscal year 2024, there were 27,656 United States citizens who are statutorily eligible for probation," Dezember said. Using that dataset, the Commission estimated that the proposed expansion would add 6,864 individuals into Zone B and 4,061 individuals into the proposed Zone C. The Commission also reported outcome and recidivism measures: among individuals who received non‑imprisonment sentences, 19% were rearrested within five years compared with 42% of those who had been sentenced to prison but were statutorily eligible for probation.

Dezember described demographic and offense characteristics for the groups affected. She said most people moving into the expanded Zone B would be in criminal history category 1, that about half of those had a 0‑point offender adjustment, and that 85% had no prior violent convictions. Compared with individuals currently in Zone B, a larger share of those who would move into Zone B had convictions for drug trafficking and firearms offenses, while smaller shares were convicted of immigration and fraud offenses. She also noted differences in departure patterns: among those projected to move into Zone B, 54% had been sentenced below the guideline range, 13% had received substantial‑assistance departures and 30% were sentenced within the guideline range; by comparison, 47% of individuals currently in Zone B had been sentenced below the guideline range.

For the proposed Zone C, Dezember said the group would look similar to current Zone C on race, gender, age and education, but would include a higher share of drug‑trafficking convictions and a lower share of firearms, fraud and immigration offenses; she noted 7% of proposed Zone C individuals were convicted of a child‑related offense, all in criminal history category 1. She reported an average imprisonment length of 38 months for those in the proposed Zone C who were incarcerated and that 51% of proposed Zone C individuals were sentenced below the guideline range.

The Commission is seeking public comment on the proposed amendments. "Comments may be submitted to the Commission at the address shown," Dezember said, and the public comment period closes on March 18, 2026.

The Commission did not include detailed vote tallies or individual mover/second information in the presentation; the slide deck and the formal notice accompanying publication will show the full proposal and instructions for submitting comments.