The Marshall Project: Epstein's Death Highlights A Staffing Crisis in Federal Prisons
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Holly Harris, executive director of the U.S. Justice Action Network, a group that advocates for changes to improve the prison system, said the Bureau of Prisons’ leadership void gives the Justice Department full control to steer it in directions that have run counter to the will of Congress and even the White House, particularly when it comes to easing criminal punishment. Barr this week blasted local prosecutors who “style themselves as ‘social justice’ reformers,” while his predecessor, Sessions, opposed the First Step Act. The federal law Trump signed last year decreased some drug sentence lengths, expanded time-off for good behavior and created more in-prison job skills training. It has led to early releases of at least 3,000 federal prisoners, most of whom were set free after the BOP hiring freeze was lifted.
“Clearly there is a lack of oversight, and it’s going to have to get addressed at some point,” Harris said. “But I’m as skeptical as anyone else that it’s going to happen.”