Cort

Appellants Simon Cort, Don Martin, and Barry Sullenger are federal prisoners *1082 serving sentences for unarmed bank robbery in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113 (a). The Bureau of Prisons initially determined that they were statutorily eligible for a sentence reduction under 18 U.S.C. § 3621 (e)(2)(B), which authorizes it to grant a sentence reduction of up to one year to prisoners convicted of “nonviolent offenses” who complete a substance abuse treatment program. Before appellants had completed the treatment program, the Bureau altered its interpretation of “nonviolent offenses” for purposes of § 3621(e)(2)(B) and, relying upon its new interpretation, informed appellants that they were no longer eligible for a sentence reduction on the ground that they had been convicted of a crime of violence. We hold that the Bureau erred in applying its new interpretation of § 3621(e)(2)(B) retroactively, and that appellants are therefore eligible for discretionary sentence reduction.

BACKGROUND

In 1990, Congress enacted amendments to 18 U.S.C. § 3621 requiring the Bureau of Prisons to give every federal prisoner with a substance abuse problem the opportunity to participate in a treatment…