More Than 2,200 Inmates Released From Federal Prison Due to First Step Act!
In Case You Missed it, This Incredible Event Happened in July of 2019!
WASHINGTON — The gates of the federal prison system swung open for 2,200 inmates who were freed under the terms a new law aimed at reducing the government’s costly inmate population and easing their transition back to the free world. The mass exodus was triggered under a provision of the First Step Act, signed into law in December 2018, that increased the number of days prisoners can have shaved off their sentences and earned early releases for good behavior.
Another 900 inmates whose sentences ended early were being transferred to immigration authorities or state officials because they had pending criminal cases or deportation orders.
Deputy Attorney Jeffrey Rosen also unveiled a new system for evaluating all federal inmates, based their needs for rehabilitation and risk of re-offending, that could speed their paths toward release.
“While we believe this tool to predict recidivism is an improvement over the existing system, we also recognize that there is room for additional change as we continue through the implementation process and gather more data,” Rosen said.
Michael Frantz, Federal Prison Expert and Director of Jail Time Consulting commented that although this is the FIRST STEP in reducing recidivism and providing federal inmates a fair chance, there is a lot more that needs to be done. Even today, certain BOP Case Managers, Unit Managers, and other federal prison employees are doing everything they can to not follow the First Step Act and deny inmates they benefits that they are eligible for and that they deserve.
What Does This Mean For Future Inmates?
The new law represents a sea change in criminal justice policy, which once advocated for the harshest punishments possible for offenders, including non-violent drug addicts who were swept up in en mass during the crack epidemic of the 1980s and early 1990s.
The reversal, driven mainly by spiraling prison costs and racial disparities in the enforcement of such punitive measures has garnered the support of an unusual political alliance that includes Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, and the man he hopes to unseat, President Donald Trump.
The law gives judges more discretion in sentencing non-violent drug offenders and eases some of the long mandatory-minimum sentences for convicts with only minor criminal records. It allows the government to release seriously ill inmates more easily and seeks to reconcile extreme sentencing disparities between people who sell crack compared to powdered cocaine. That provision alone has already freed 1,093 inmates and led to shorter sentences for 1,600 others.
Frantz stated that Congress is definitely on the right track, but there has to be much more oversight on the Bureau of Prisons to make sure each facility follows the law and not just “business as usual the way they want to do it.” That is happening way too much!
Most of those freed Friday, officials said, were released from halfway houses where they were completing the last portions of their sentences.
Drug offenders represented the largest portion of the released inmates, while others had completed terms for firearms crimes, sex offenses, and robbery.
See Original USA Today Article Here
Talk With a Prison Consultant to Get Qualified
Give us a call at 954-740-2253 (or 800-382-0868 toll-free) to see if you or your loved ones qualify for sentence reductions or early releases through the First Step Act or any of the other four (4) programs available from the Bureau of Prisons to allow inmates to be released earlier. Call now!
