Class Action Lawsuit Alleges BOP Failing to Comply with First Step Act
As we have previously covered, there have been numerous allegations that the BOP has kept inmates in custodial settings longer than they should per the various rules that govern how inmates’ sentencing credits are calculated and when they are eligible for some type of release from custody, such as being placed into home confinement or in what is commonly referred to a a halfway house. Soon after Senators Dick Durbin and Chuck Grassley wrote an open letter to the Director of the Bureau of Prisons (“BOP”) over concerns about how the agency is implementing the First Step Act, which allows for various credits and other programing to decrease the the amount of time inmates serve in physical custody and designed in part to reduce the number of inmates in federal custody, the American Civil Liberties Union (“ACLU”) filed a class action lawsuit against the BOP alleging the same concerns. Filling on behalf of thousands of prisoners who believe they should have been moved to community confinement instead of still being in custody, the lawsuit alleges that the BOP has designated the credits inmates earn under the First Step Act as discretionary rather than mandatory despite the Act being clear that these credits should apply to any inmate who receives them. The ACLU’s press release accompanying the lawsuit states that “the BOP’s failure to implement the First Step Act according to its plain language violates the rights of thousands of people who should be returning to their communities and rebuilding their lives but instead remain incarcerated.” Worse still, some inmates believe that they are facing retribution from BOP staff for advocating for their dully earned credits, with one inmate at FCI Forrest City satellite prison camp writing that, “My formal attempts to remedy this issue with the prison’s administrators and staff have [been] met with negative results due to their refusal to take any remedial action.” Federal inmates, their families, advocates, and other interested parties want to see increased transparency from the BOP to ensure that they are being released in a timely manner and are properly receiving credits against their sentence for participating in BOP programs. Anyone who believes they or a loved one is being held in federal custody longer than the rules and laws that govern how inmates are released to less restrictive conditions should contact an attorney experienced in navigating such issues immediately to help ensure release without further delay.