BOP must transfer prisoner home after miscalculation at first step

The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) remains to be attempting to implement the First Step Act (FSA), greater than five years after then-President Trump signed it into law. While the calculation of FSA credits to scale back federal prisoners’ time in prison has been largely fixed, the dearth of space in halfway houses is now causing problems. The result’s that many, possibly 1000’s of prisoners are staying in facilities longer than vital while they wait for a spot in a halfway house.

A case within the Federal District of Kansas will likely set the trend to force the BOP to make changes to comply with the FSA. The FSA has two key components: 1) it allows prisoners, mostly in minimum security correctional facilities, to earn points to scale back their sentence by up to 1 yr by participating in programs or productive activities, and a couple of) for the points earned beyond the yr, prisoners can earn as much as 15 days/month of additional house arrest. This house arrest is run primarily by staff at halfway houses, private or nonprofit organizations that contract with the BOP and are designed to ease the transition from prison to society.

Since the FSA law was enacted, most prisoners received credits for the 12 months that reduced their sentence. Now, as time goes on, increasingly prisoners will not be only having their sentence reduced, but have also received credits that ought to allow them to be transferred to deal with arrest, some for over a yr. The BOP knew this problem would arise eventually, and it’s getting worse with each passing day.

Alphonso Woodley was scheduled to be transferred to a halfway house within the Orlando, FL area, a spot known for its limited space. Woodley filed a habeas corpus petition claiming his rights were violated since the BOP was keeping him in jail when he must have been transferred to deal with arrest. The BOP’s initial response didn’t address Woodley’s primary grievance, but fairly that Woodley had not exhausted his administrative remedies to get the BOP to resolve his problem before going to court.

The administrative appeals process on the BOP is outdated. Prisoners first go to their case manager with their concerns on a form called a BP-8. The forms are in triplicate and have to be filled out by hand. Additionally, the forms will not be easily accessible and have to be hand-delivered by the case manager, who is frequently not searching for extra work. If the case manager denies it or 30 days have passed with out a response, a BP-10 is filed which is distributed to the director…then a BP-10 to the regional office…after which a BP-11 to BOP headquarters in Washington DC. Going through your entire process can take as much as 6 months or more. Many prisoners imagine that lots of the administrative appeals find yourself within the trash since the BOP doesn’t track them electronically and responses are often mailed to prisoners. The system is broken.

Woodley went straight to court since the regional BOP had taken over his prison and put it on lockdown. He didn’t even have the forms he needed, and every single day he spent in prison was a violation of his rights. A federal judge also agreed that exhaustion was not vital and ruled on Woodley’s case.

Woodley had done what the BOP asked him to do. He entered a program where he received FSA points that reduced his 10-year sentence for a drug offense. He also accomplished an inpatient drug program that reduced his sentence by one other yr. Woodley also continued to earn FSA points that might put him on house arrest for 445 days. As a result, he must have been sent home under strict rules a while ago. Instead, he languished in prison after which filed this request when the BOP said he can be transferred on September 4, 2024, when there can be room for his supervision by the halfway house. The problem is that the BOP has no such discretion since the FSA states that the BOP “must” transfer eligible inmates to deal with arrest.

The BOP argued that the situation of Woodley’s placement was on the discretion of the BOP and the court had no authority to intervene. However, U.S. District Judge John W. Lungstrum disagreed. The BOP acknowledged that Woodley was eligible for transfer to home confinement, but there was no room for him on the halfway house. Judge Lungstrum stated: “The [BOP’s] The excuse for the delay in transferring the applicant to an RRC is that there are no beds available in a particular RRC until September. However, such a condition regarding bed availability is not included in the eligibility requirements under section 3624(g), and therefore immediate placement in pre-release custody is still required under section 3632(d)(4)(C).”

Judge Lungstrum said the BOP should “ensure that there is sufficient temporary detention capacity to accommodate all eligible prisoners.” In Woodley, the judge wrote, “Because the BOP’s failure to transfer plaintiff to temporary detention is a violation of federal law, the court granted the motion for relief.”

Woodley is currently under house arrest near Orlando, serving his sentence there, although the BOP announced shortly before the sentencing that there was no room left there. Many other inmates are in prison because Judge Lungstrum ruled in Woodley’s favor… but Woodley could have paved the best way for them to come back home sooner. (Judge Lungstrum’s order will be found here.).

The judge’s decision shouldn’t be only consistent with the FSA, but additionally aligns with comments made by current BOP Director Colette Peters on a study of inmates placed on house arrest during Covid-19 under the CARES Act. Peters stated, “This study reinforces my belief, shaped by decades of experience in corrections, that alternatives to mass incarceration are the most effective approach. The findings that individuals placed on CARES were no more likely or less likely to recidivate than comparable individuals on house arrest, and even less likely to do so after release, are encouraging. This study suggests that reducing the incarceration of appropriate individuals through measures such as early and extended house arrest does not endanger public safety and can actually contribute to successful reintegration into society.”

It is time to place these words into motion.