NBC News: Thousands of federal inmates still await early release under Trump-era First Step Act
Thousands of nonviolent federal prisoners eligible for early release under a promising Trump-era law remain locked up nearly four years later because of inadequate implementation, confusion and bureaucratic delays, prisoner advocacy groups, affected inmates and former federal prison officials say.
Even the Biden administration’s attempt to provide clarity to the First Step Act by identifying qualified inmates and then transferring them to home confinement or another form of supervised release appears to be falling short, according to prisoner advocates familiar with the law.
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Holly Harris, a longtime Republican strategist who pushed for passage of the First Step Act as head of the nonpartisan Justice Action Network, said the change in administrations is no excuse for a slow rollout.
“Not only that, but the Biden administration ran on criminal justice reform, and now we can’t get answers for anything,” she said, adding that she hopes Carvajal’s replacement will “dig in quickly and prioritize those individuals who are just languishing in prison needlessly to the unnecessary expense of the taxpayer.”