Re: The Full Implementation of the First Step Act and Second Chance Act
In hopes of improving the prison pipeline, which disproportionately affects the poor, marginalized, and vulnerable populations, Advocates Supporting All Prisoners (ASAP) humbly presents this post regarding the First Step Act (FSA) and Second Chance Act (SCA) and their full implementation.
In August 2003, the United States Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) issued data based on radical changes in crime policies and sentencing laws and an unprecedented commitment to incarceration. The Bureau projected that one in three black male babies born in the United States in the 21st century would spend time in jail or prison during their lifetime. The projection for Latino boys was one in six. Despite the devastating scale of this forecast state, federal entities did not engage in serious strategies to prevent the predicted painful futures for black and brown families. The number of women in jails and prisons, (most of them with children) increased 750% from 1980 to 2017. By the end of 2018, 113 million American adults had an immediate family member who were currently or formerly incarcerated. At Camp Atwood, most prisoners are mothers, leaving their children behind to be cared for by family members or in CPS custody of their states. Additionally, women incarcerated here are low and minimum recidivism, and do not impose a threat to society.
The Bureau of Prisons(BOP) does not currently implement the First Step Act (which went into law in 2018) and Second Chance Act (which went into law in 2007) properly, and this is in direct violation of the 14th Amendment, which was ratified to protect all persons from any attempt that deny them equal protection of the laws depriving them of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. To deprive inmates of the full implementation of the First Step Act and Second Chance Act is considered gross negligence and an intentional failure to perform clear duty, which recklessly disregards and neglects their human rights of life and liberty.
In late 2022, the BOP announced it was developing a calculator to project FSA credits so it could address the problem of getting an accurate date for pre-release custody. Their plan was to deploy their final stages before the end of calendar year 2023, per Carl Bailey, who was from the Office of Public Affairs. This, has not been done. There are still disparities of inmates dates, which are in question daily by those who are incarcerated. Many inmates have to resign their release paperwork multiple times, because the Case Managers are continuously changing the dates. This causes anxiety, frustration, anger and an inability of inmates to prepare properly for their life outside of prison walls.
Additionally, RRMs are kicking back, rejecting RRC placement packets for Halfway Houses, saying they are either “full” of that they cannot monitor a prisoner applying FSA and SCA credits “stacking together”. Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 3624(g)(7) Agreements with United States Probation and Pretrial Services, they are not following the guidelines that they are under the obligation to do so. At Camp Atwood, there are inmates kept here weeks, months, and years longer than they are required to do so, due to the delays in fully implementing the FSA and SCA laws.
We are requesting assistance in the following areas:
-To fully implement the First Step Act and Second Chance Act to allow Minimum and Low-Risk inmates to transfer to pre-release custody, including home confinement sooner, as the law allows.
– The direct the BOP to provide inmates with their “Earliest Conditional Pre-Release Placement Date” for planning purposes to allow inmates to get the maximum benefit of the First Step Act and Second Chance Act.
– Within this current Administration, there is a push for streamlining costs and improving the budget. In releasing those with low and minimum recidivism to home confinement will be a cost savings measure by millions of dollars. It currently costs approximately $60,000 per prisoner per year to be incarcerated at prison camps. Releasing inmates to home confinement, rather than placed in a federal camp will help on several financial fronts, and pose less of a burden to the BOP and United States Government. We are requesting this measure be implemented as soon as possible.
If you have any guidance on how these two Acts can be immediately implemented, please send the information to me at:
Carolynne Parker 69123-510
FMC Lexington, Federal Medical Center
Satellite Camp
PO Box 14525
Lexington, KY 40512
