By Troy Lee Wooley
So, the Democrats and Republicans have joined teams to develop this fabulous new bill; great…NOT!!
Corrections Oversight, Recidivism Reduction, and Eliminating Costs for Taxpayers in Our National System (CORRECTIONS) Act…A lot of words that add up to spell BULL-PUCKY!
The bill says it EXCLUDES ALL sex offenders, terrorist offenders, repeat offenders, major organized crime offenders, major fraud offenders, anyone sentenced under the career offender guidelines, those in category 6 of the guidelines, or those with one or more convictions for a federal crime. These people are NOT eligible for participation and NOT eligible for earned credits.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO EARN THESE WONDERFUL CREDITS??
I am currently a detainee at the Federal Detention Center at Sheridan in Sheridan, Oregon. Being a “jail-house paralegal,” I have come up with the following numbers after talking to and with most prisoners in my unit. (I admit that my numbers are not exact, but they are VERY close)
- There are an average of 125 people in the unit.
- Fifty-three are Hispanic with INS holds.
- Of the 72 people left, approx. Fifteen are non-violent sex offenders, i.e., downloaders and possession of child porn.
- Approximately 17 are charged with sex trafficking with or without a minor involved.
- Of the 40 left, 20 are charged as “Armed Career Criminals.”
- The rest have an element of what is considered violence.
- Of the 125 people in my unit, exactly ZERO will benefit.
The risk assessments are done “Post-Sentencing” by what must be the Bureau of Prisons since that is what the bill calls for.
WHO is it targeting if this bill encourages participation in recidivism reduction programs and productive activities such as faith-based self-help programs?
The $6.9 billion spent on housing the 210,000 inmates in 2013 will NOT be affected by a bill that helps 3 out of 100 people, so what is the point?
Do you want to make a good change? Revise the bill to include all the excluded people except those who have actually put their hands on victims, and act like the states do when they call it “EARNED TIME CREDIT.” They give 10-15% for good behavior and 10-15% for those trying to better themselves (programming).
But don’t act like this is some excellent act of Congress because IT’S NOT!!!
This bill will not help, and those who think it will are delusional.
Published Feb 16, 2015 by Christopher Zoukis, JD, MBA | Last Updated by Christopher Zoukis, JD, MBA on Jul 30, 2023 at 7:23 pm
