Reply to the Task documenting Tenacity for publication in profile of Shane A. Smith, BOP # 58920-177:
My story of tenacity revolves around the BOP’s history of interpreting the laws and publishing their own version of the laws, especially those related to the First Step Act, in their program statements and using only the program statements as their authority for administrative remedies. I have submitted multiple administrative remedies this past year to get the BOP to recognize the actual federal statutes of the FSA related to good conduct time credits and early time credits. They continue to deny my requests, even though the requests are based on the law and the federal rules (some of which BOP personnel wrote) and hundreds of pages of evidence proving they are administering the FSA and giving credits incorrectly. But I realized early on that this is just the way the BOP operates and when you know how they “play the game” you can overcome them. I make sure to continue submitting the correct paperwork, with the correct copies, up the ladder. And when all my requests are denied, and they’ve only pointed to their own rules that are non-compliant with federal law, I believe a judge will side with the law and the intent of Congress when I take those motions before him. No matter how many “no’s” you get from the BOP, it only takes one “yes” from a judge and all that work will be more than worth it. Tenacity means never quitting and never letting the ineptness of the BOP stop you from getting what is legally and rightfully yours.
