Category: First Step Act
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BOP Math Isn’t Mathing This spring new Federal Prison Director (BOP) William K Marshall III “Billy” made a huge splash. In fact, even to this day his new executive team; himself, Deputy Director Josh Smith and Assistant Deputy Director Rick Stover have breathed new life into an embattled agency. Since Marshall’s tenure began they’ve implemented…
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A Detainer Is Not A Final Order Of Removal Are you the loved one of an undocumented inmate in federal prison? In a few different videos on federal prison tips TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook, you may have heard us talking about Jesus Sanchez Ledezma. Jesus was an inmate at the federal prison in Yazoo, Mississippi.…
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How Do Fentanyl Charges And First Step Act Interact? Can an inmate in federal prison with a fentanyl charge get benefits under the First Step Act (FSA)? There seems to be some confusion. There are some fentanyl charges that actually are eligible. If your judgement & commitment(J&C) says 841(a), you’re eligible. If it says 841(b)(1)(B)…
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What Are The 68 Disqualifying Offenses? 18 USC § 3632(d)(4)(D) outlines the specific offenses that make an inmate ineligible to earn First Step Act (FSA) time credits. If any of the offenses listed below are among your charges, you will not see any sentence reductions from the First Step Act. Offense Code Offense Description Section…
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We get this question a lot: aren’t inmates who’ve earned less than 365 day of First Step Act (FSA) credit supposed to learn up to 12 months of Second Chance Act (SCA) community confinement as well? The answer is yes, 100%. This was verified by the director of the BOP in his press release to…
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When It Comes To The BOP, There’s No Immediate Gratification What many inmates and inmate’s families need to understand is that immediate gratification doesn’t exist when it comes to issues regarding federal prison. For instance, the purported changes in applying FSA and SCA benefits. One week ago, Rick Stover called Federal Prison Tips founder Kyle…
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Getting Free Sooner With The First Step Act One of the most common questions we get in our Facebook, Tiktok, and Instagram comments is about using First Step Act (FSA) credits towards supervised release. Here’s the breakdown: you can use your first year’s worth of accumulated credits towards beginning supervised release, or to the door.…
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No Surprise: Case Managers Are Creating Confusion The technical and legal fact is that yes, undocumented inmates should receive benefits from the First Step Act and Second Chance Act, and can be placed in community confinement like a Halfway House. Assuming, of course, that the undocumented inmate’s offense allows qualification. However, case managers in the…
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924(c)s And FSA: What About Revocation Of Supervised Release? If you’re a regular consumer of Federal Prison Tips content, you probably already know the answer: Nope. If you’re on a violation or revocation of supervised release and the original charge was a 924(c), you cannot get First Step Act credit. The BOP is not to…
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By Benjamin McConley 18321-014 FCI Coleman Low When President Donald Trump signed the First Step Act into law, he didn’t just push through a piece of legislation, he cracked open the doors of a broken justice system. He gave America’s forgotten men and women a voice, a pathway, and for the first time in a…
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So, What’s the Deal? Can the First Step Act, or FSA, get an inmate in federal prison under a mandatory minimum? Yes. For instance, if you got a mandatory minimum on a drug conspiracy for 10 years without a firearm or a leadership role, you would be fully FSA eligible. You will also benefit from…
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We’re All Fed Up With Prison Admins Ignoring Directives & Law Of all institutions to be ignorant of the law, and to have public servants act insubordinately to their superiors, the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) should be the last on that list. Deputy Director Josh Smith has made it clear that those who continue to…
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If Your Loved One Is Being Held Past Their Conditional Release Date, Their Are Options Over a week ago, new guidance was issued to inmates in federal prison, prison staff, and the public at large on BOP.gov. BOP director Billy Marshall issued guidance that cleared the air around a massive question: First Step Act and…
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The Rules Have Been Made Clear Billy Marshall, the new director of the federal prison system, has put the hammer down on unit teams across the country. For context: on May 28, 2025, Marshall issued guidance saying that the BOP would now honor the conditional release dates for both the FSA, then the SCA. Later…
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BOP Listed Out Dates Change. What’s The Deal? We got this comment, or rather, question, on our TikTok comments earlier this week. It’s common knowledge to those who’ve had the Federal Prison system affect their life or family member’s life, but worth reiterating to those who are new to the system. The First Step Act…
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As is customary, the BOP is generating more confusion around its implementation of the First Step Act, Second Chance Act, and how time credits will be applied to halfway house placement and home confinement through two conflicting memos. Are we finally moving in the right direction? Let’s break down what was said. William K. Marshall’s…
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Despite an outcry on the Internet Steve Bannon did not get out early on First Step Act because he wasn’t eligible for First Step Act Credit find out more at federalprisontips.com
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FIrst Step Act Allows for “years and years” of RRC according to BOP Director Colette Peters (it’s in the above video). The First Step Act of 2018 is the first significant form of Prison Reform legislation in over three decades. The FSA allows for eligible inmates in federal custody to earn “earned time credits” against…
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If you’ve been on supervised release for a year or longer, haven’t gotten in any trouble with your probation officer, and have had no dirty UA’s (dirty drops), now is the time to consider filing for early termination of supervised release. Judges across the country are granting early terminations more liberally now than ever before…
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The Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has confirmed what happens with the extra credits a Federal Inmate earns in Federal Prison under FSA after the first 365 days is redeemed.