With the CARES act being implemented on Friday, I want to make a few observations which I am not hearing about in the advocacy world. I’m also going to re-circulate several recommendations I made over a week ago which can simultaneously be done to alleviate crowding and allow for better social distancing in our federal [...]
As the Federal Bureau of Prison’s Director testified to Congress last Tuesday, reports started to circulate about the indictments of two correctional officers regarding the falsification of records regarding the Jeffrey Epstein suicide. On November 4, the BOP Director warned staff that falsifying documents is “very serious misconduct” that could expose staff to criminal prosecution. [...]
It’s been too long since I ranted on Federal prison reform but reading the March 26, 2018, letter from the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights to Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer sparked unpleasant memories and inspired me to sit down to write this little ditty! Anyone who has followed my blogs understands my [...]
I have been reading many stories about the recent appointment of retired General Mark Inch as the new FBOP Director. Anyone who listens to my reform mantra knows I have been calling for an outside director for over a decade. The more common group think of advocates is to sound the alarm bells in a [...]
I recently came to the realization the best way to take this blog was to periodically cover the lessons learned during my work in the trenches of the Federal justice system as an advocate, consultant and reform freak. Going forward, I will focus on prison and legislative reforms while keeping an eye on what I [...]
Last week, I was invited by Kevin Ring to participate on a panel in the Capitol Building regarding the subject of "Compassionate Release". FAMM was previewing a new video called "5 to Life" highlighting the many frustrations families feel while trying to navigate the Federal Bureau of Prisons for a terminally ill family member. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z929XbFeoCw&feature=youtu.be [...]
I felt it was time for a 2017 blog and Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates’s remarks at Harvard’s Law School were the catalyst to set me in motion. https://www.justice.gov/opa/speech/deputy-attorney-general-sally-q-yates-delivers-remarks-harvard-law-school-sentencing-and My mantra has consistently been that many Federal prison reform initiatives can be accomplished under the existing policy framework through leadership, accountability and thinking outside the [...]
Terminating private prison contracts should not come as a surprise to anyone. It is simply “The Perfect Storm” of events. First, The advocacy world understands future trends were already pivoting away from mass incarceration. It actually started at the state level and the Feds are simply late to the table. For many years we have been hearing about the [...]
The government, which was designed for the people, has got into the hands of the bosses and their employers, the special interests. An invisible empire has been set up above the forms of democracy. ~Woodrow Wilson Anyone who knows me understands I am not a fan of the prison reform bills circulating in Congress. I’m [...]
Last week, I attended the United States Sentencing Commission Annual National Training Seminar on the Sentencing Guidelines which was held in New Orleans. One thing I came away with was a different take on pending Federal Criminal Justice reform legislation than one would perceive given the recently (and constantly) hyped media coverage. In the past [...]