ICYMI: DOJ MEMO THREATENS TO SEND THOUSANDS BACK TO PRISON UNLESS BIDEN ADMINISTRATION ACTS; CRITICAL BUREAU OF PRISONS OVERSIGHT HEARING SET FOR TOMORROW
Thousands of People Safely Transferred to Home Confinement Due to COVID-19 Will be Sent Back to Prison, Devastating Families and Communities
Dozens of Lawmakers and Advocacy Groups from Across Political Spectrum Have Called For Biden Administration to Prevent This Tragedy
THE BACKGROUND…
Last March, the Bureau of Prisons deemed thousands of men and women as safe to re-enter public society and many of them have now returned home to their families, found employment, and pursued continuing education. They were not told they would have to return to prison. Of the more than 23,000 people transferred to home confinement since March 2020, just one has committed a new crime. But unless the Biden administration acts quickly, as many as 7,399 of them will be torn from their communities and sent back to prison. A lawyer at the Office of Legal Counsel issued a memo requiring the Bureau of Prisons to recall them to prison once the COVID-19 emergency declaration is lifted.
WHILE YOU WERE LOOKING THE OTHER WAY…
New guidance from the Department of Justice expanded eligibility for home confinement, but does nothing to resolve the pending crisis for thousands of people safely completing their sentences at home, who could face unnecessary incarceration.
Today, Justice Action Network sent a letter to Chairman Richard Durbin and Senator Charles Grassley ahead of tomorrow’s Judiciary Committee’s hearing on the oversight of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, drawing attention to this critical issue and the spread of COVID-19 in prisons.
A bipartisan group of more than two dozen members of Congress wrote to President Biden, urging him to reverse this memo or use his executive authority to prevent the reincarceration of thousands of people safely finishing their sentences on home confinement.
Justice Action Network, along with FAMM, the ACLU, Prison Fellowship, the Brennan Center, and dozens of criminal justice organizations, sent President Biden and Attorney General Garland a letter urging them to take immediate action to rescind this devastating guidance.
THE IMPACT ON FAMILIES…
These men and women have reconnected with their families, found employment and education, contributed to our nation’s recovery, and begun planning for their futures. Unless the Biden administration acts, these families will be broken up again, already-overcrowded prisons and jails will become increasingly overwhelmed, and thousands of people will be forced back into prison.
Amanda Saucier: “It would be an absolute nightmare for my four children if their mother was sent back to prison. I only have 12 months left until my halfway house eligibility and to snatch me from their lives needlessly once again would be a very sad end to this story.”
More on the terrible limbo facing families HERE.
THE IMPACT ON CORRECTIONAL STAFF AND FACILITIES…
Federal prisons, already hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, are not ready to accommodate thousands of new admissions. A union official representing correctional employees called the move logistically “impossible.”
Joe Rojas, Southeast Regional Vice President at Council of Prison Locals: “We don’t have the staff. We are already in chaos as it is as an agency.”
THE UPCOMING HEARING…
Bureau of Prisons Director Michael Carvajal will appear in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee tomorrow. He should expect questions on the success of the home confinement program, the threat looming over people facing reincarceration, and the danger posed by crowding thousands of additional people into federal prisons.
A QUICK STATEMENT FROM JAN FEDERAL DIRECTOR INIMAI CHETTIAR…
“This memo – written in the waning hours of an outgoing administration – is cruel, legally dubious, and will devastate thousands of families across the country. The men and women moved to home confinement were carefully screened to ensure that they did not pose a threat to public safety, and there is no public safety rationale to throwing them back in prison now. The Biden administration has the authority and the moral obligation to immediately rescind this memo, and remove the threat hanging over these people and their families.”