What’s The Problem Now?
By now, everyone knows that Federal Prison Director Billy Marshall issued a memorandum back in June and posted it on the Federal Bureau of Prisons website. This memo directed case managers in the BOP to stack First Step Act (FSA) and Second Chance Act (SCA) benefits to provide inmates the maximum benefit towards halfway house placement and early release.
So, why are only 47 institutions currently executing this correctly?
Believe it or not, it has to do with the fact that the Federal Bureau of prisons is currently operating on about 60% of its capacity for employees.
Nobody wants to work there.
Being stretched so thin on a regular basis means more inmates in federal prison are on lockdown. It means more inmates aren’t getting recreational time or access to their programming because so many prisons don’t have the staff to support these programs.
So, what does this have to do with FSA and SCA? Well, the people who work at these institutions are used to doing things their own way.
They don’t like being told what to do.
They’re completely ignoring Federal Prison Director Billy Marshall, Deputy Director Josh Smith and Special Assistant to the Director Rick Stover, and they know they can, because the BOP can’t afford to lose more employees, and the union protects them anyway.
To reiterate, there are a number of institutions, approximately 50, which are doing it correctly. We expect more to fall in line in the months to come. But, unfortunately, it will take time.
If you want to get it done right now, you or your family needs to take a 2241 motion to court. You can write it yourself, hire a lawyer to write it, or we can assist and educate you with it.
As always, you can reach out through our website, or give us a call during our business hours: 407-434-0175.