Justice Action Network Issues Statement on Announcement of Michael Carvajal as New Bureau of Prisons Director

Inimai Chettiar, Legislative and Policy Director of the Justice Action Network, issued the following statement in response to Attorney General William Barr’s announcement of Michael Carvajal as the new director of the Bureau of Prisons.

“The new Director of the Bureau of Prisons, Michael Carvajal, has a huge challenge before him: he will be in charge of more than 36,000 employees, a multi-billion dollar budget, and an entity that has seen far too many scandals and failures.

That’s why we support the Federal Prisons Accountability Act, sponsored by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senators Rand Paul (R-KY), Mike Lee (R-UT), and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), which would ensure that future directors of the Bureau of Prisons are subject to the Senate’s consideration and confirmation process.

In the meantime, we hope the appointment of Director Carvajal marks a renewed commitment from the Bureau of Prisons to fully implement the First Step Act. We urge Director Carvajal to increase transparency and accountability for the Bureau, and we encourage Congress to use its oversight authority to ensure that the Bureau of Prisons is faithfully executing the law, and ensuring recidivism-reduction programming is properly implemented.”