Federal Bureau of Prisons
Press Release: Federal Bureau of Prisons’ Information
The Federal Bureau of Prisons incarcerates 154,859 federal prisoners across 37 states. These inmates are held in 127 stand-alone federal prisons, 68 satellite prison camps, and 12 private prisons. In fiscal year 2019, 76,656 criminal defendants were sentenced in federal courts. This constitutes a 10.2 percent increase in federal criminal sentencing over fiscal year 2018.…
Read MorePrison Reform and Redemption Act: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Introduction On July 24, 2017, Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA) introduced a bill in the House of Representatives titled the “Prison Reform and Redemption Act” (PRRA).1 The bill is co-sponsored by nine members of the 115th Congress, four of whom are fellow Republicans. According to the text of the proposed legislation, its purpose is “To provide for…
Read MoreAs BOP Plans Staff Reductions, Does “Augmentation” Show Efficiency or Understaffing?
In February 2018, federal union officials from across the nation met with legislators in Washington to lobby against proposed cuts in the fiscal year 2019 federal budget that would prevent the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) from filling an estimated 7,100 currently vacant staff positions in federal prisons. Of the 37,237 BOP civilian positions authorized…
Read MoreDOJ Will Build New Prison in Southeastern Kentucky
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has now decided to build a new prison in southeastern Kentucky, according to a senior congressman from the state, even though the agency had earlier opposed the project. On March 31, Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY), a former chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, announced Attorney General Jeff Sessions had informed…
Read MoreBOP Orders Staff Cuts of Nearly 14 Percent
In twin developments as the Trump administration developed its new budget proposal, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) told federal prison officials to prepare for across-the-board reductions in authorized staffing levels of nearly 12 percent, and ordered them to identify inmates now in federally-run facilities who could be transferred to privately-run prisons. Staffing Levels On…
Read MoreBureau of Prisons Selects New Health Care Accrediting Body
The Federal Bureau of Prisons has contracted with the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) to provide accreditation services at the 122 BOP institutions that provide medical, dental and mental health services to prisoners. The AAAHC was founded in 1979 and according to its website is “the leader in ambulatory health care accreditation with…
Read MoreBOP Fails and Prevails in Prison Guard Discrimination Complaint
Robert T. Aranda, an “inmate systems officer” (prison guard), was a very litigious Bureau of Prisons employee. Between 1996 and 1998, while working at multiple BOP facilities in several capacities, Aranda filed at least six complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). He alleged variations of racial (Hispanic) and gender (male) discrimination against many…
Read MoreEighth Circuit: Prior Convictions Not Relevant to Escape
Leonard Lester Slaughter III was serving a 115-month sentence at a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility when he escaped. After pleading guilty to the escape, the District Court concluded that two prior convictions were not “relevant conduct” and thus counted them as felony convictions when calculating Slaughter’s criminal history category. Slaughter objected and made the…
Read MoreFormer Ohio Politician’s Negligence Case Against CCA Goes Forward
James Dimora, 61, was a Cuyahoga County, Ohio commissioner when he was indicted on federal racketeering and corruption charges in April 2012. While awaiting trial at the Northeast Ohio Correctional Center, operated by Corrections Corporation of America (now known as CoreCivic), Dimora was involved in a slip and fall accident and suffered injuries. He sued…
Read MoreDOJ Inspector General Outlines Challenges for Federal Prisons
As has been done annually since 1998, in October, the Department of Justice (DOJ) inspector general released a list of what he sees as the leading management and performance challenges confronting the agency in the year ahead. One of the eight areas identified by Inspector General Michael Horowitz was summarized as “Managing an Overcrowded Federal…
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