Latest news with #homeconfinement
Fox News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Diddy's Lawyer May Ask for Home Confinement
Diddy's lawyer may request home confinement to ensure he gets the therapy he needs during his sentence. A vandalized billboard in an L.A. suburb links Sydney Sweeney's American Eagle ad to the Proud Boys, sparking local outrage. Plus, Cassie shared a lighthearted postpartum post on social media months after testifying against Diddy in his federal trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit
Forbes
17-06-2025
- Forbes
Bureau Of Prisons Retracts Rule, Truly Expands Halfway House
Each year, thousands of federal prisoners are released to halfway houses to start their life anew. ... More The BOP has struggled to keep up with capacity In May, Bureau of Prisons (BOP) distributed a memorandum stating that inmates who have earned 365 days of First Step Act (FSA) credits for prerelease custody are not eligible for additional prerelease time under the Second Chance Act. Further, it stated that those who had shorter sentences, under 4 years, and who had a home to stay in, could only get home confinement under the Second Chance Act. That limitation, 10% of the sentence imposed up to a maximum of 6 months, meant that many minimum and low security inmates would stay in institution correctional facilities for much longer. There are two components to the transition from the prison institution to the community. The first is a stop at a halfway house, which are operated by for-profit and non-profit entities that provide staffing to care for and monitor returning inmates. These inmates come from every BOP security level from minimum security campers to those coming from high security US Penitentiaries. The accommodations are modest with a bed, perhaps a television and some delivered meals for breakfast and dinner. Those in halfway houses are expected to have a job during the day. Inmates can earn passes to go home on weekends beginning on Fridays and returning on Sundays. The other component is home confinement, which allows an inmate to live in their own home, go to work and be subjected to monitoring by an ankle bracelet or some special cellphone. Home confinement is capped at 6 months depending on the sentence length but many in prison long to be in the community sooner to earn wages and be closer to their family members. This combination of halfway house and home confinement has been used for decades by the BOP but the FSA allowed inmates to earn an unlimited amount of prerelease custody through participation in programs and productive activities. This obviously benefits those with longer prison terms. However, limitations in capacity at these halfway houses, BOP funding and policy implementation has caused a backlog leaving inmates in expensive institutions much longer than necessary. Director William Marshall III issued an internal memorandum to all wardens in the BOP stating, 'To be clear, FSA [First Step Act] and SCA [Second Chance Act] authorities are cumulative and shall be applied in sequence to maximize prerelease custody, including home confinement (HC). Residential Reentry Center (RRC) bed availability/capacity shall not be a barrier to HC when an individual is statutorily eligible and appropriate for such placement.' This directive given in the memorandum represents a bold departure from earlier efforts by the BOP to restrict prerelease custody and it is the first time that the BOP has recognized the word 'shall' in the context of placing eligible inmates into halfway house and home confinement. Previously, the BOP has stated that any move to prerelease custody was based on availability of halfway house space. While no specifics were given in the memorandum as to expansion of halfway house capacity, the BOP must have a plan in place. In fact, when the BOP was still searching for a new Director and Deputy Director, it issued a memorandum stating that prerelease custody was going to be curtailed because of budgetary concerns. That memorandum was overturned as well. The BOP's Office of Public Affairs issued a press release concerning the changes and stated the following key points (bold print was emphasized by BOP): FSA Earned Time Credits and SCA eligibility will be treated as cumulative and stackable, allowing qualified individuals to serve meaningful portions of their sentences in home confinement when appropriate. Conditional Placement Dates—based on projected credit accrual and statutory timelines—will drive timely referrals, not bureaucratic inertia. Stable housing and community reintegration readiness, not past employment, will guide placement decisions. RRC bed capacity limitations will not be a barrier to Home Confinement when an individual is statutorily eligible and appropriate for such placement. Fully implementing the FSA depends on a place to either house or monitor inmates in the community. That capacity comes from halfway houses. The BOP faces significant challenges regarding the adequacy of its halfway house capacity. These centers play a crucial role in reintegrating inmates into society by providing structured environments that facilitate employment, counseling, and other reentry services. Despite the essential function of RRCs, the BOP has struggled to meet the growing demand for these facilities. Reports indicate that the BOP's RRC population has often exceeded contracted capacity, with some facilities operating at over 100% capacity. This overutilization has led to challenges in providing adequate services and accommodations. Moreover, the BOP's efforts to expand RRC capacity have been hindered by various factors, including zoning difficulties and delays in facility openings. The BOP has traditionally had a communication problem between the central office leadership who make the policy and the case managers who implement that policy on the ground. This is particularly true of the FSA. Case managers are responsible for overseeing the rehabilitation and reintegration of inmates, including developing individualized treatment plans, monitoring progress, and recommending changes to custody levels. They also facilitate communication between inmates and the courts, manage security concerns, and assist with transitioning inmates to community-based programs such as halfway houses. That transition and when to start the process for transitioning the inmate back into society falls on the shoulders of the case manager. With FSA and Second Chance Act, the date a person leaves prison is very much a calculation that everyone needs to understand. It has also been unequally applied across institutions where some case managers have been reluctant to implement policies for unknown reasons. That is not a problem that should be on the case manager, that is a leadership problem that has existed for years as 122 institutions essentially are self-contained prisons with different leaders, wardens, who have their own interpretation of policy. This inconsistency of implementing a law has been the achilles heel of the BOP since the FSA was passed. The key to success of this policy will be based on communication to the staff. It is the only way the FSA can live up to its purpose to return many to the community sooner so that they can complete their sentence in a way that respects the law, keeps communities safe and returns citizens who are ready to rejoin society with purpose. Advocacy groups have routinely cheered on the BOP based on memorandums that tout reform, but later look at results with disappointment. Measured results in cost savings and lower recidivism rates are the key to FSA success. I reached out to Rabbi Moshe Margaretten, President of Tzedek Association and one of the primary advocates for implementation of the FSA, who told me, 'I want to express my deepest admiration and gratitude to the BOP for today's outstanding announcement. Under the exceptional leadership of Director Marshall, this bold and thoughtful policy marks a watershed moment for meaningful second chances in our country.' Rabbi Margaretten said that he sees this as the BOP's clear commitment to fully implementing both the FSA and the Second Chance Act and that the new guidance was done with compassion, clarity, and courage. He also noted, 'This is nothing short of inspiring. By stacking eligibility under both statutes, focusing on stable housing instead of outdated employment requirements, and removing artificial barriers to home confinement, this guidance embraces the true intent of the law: helping men and women safely return home and rebuild their lives." The BOP has struggled to find quality leadership to change the culture and get better results, which explains why the agency reached outside for new leadership. It was Donald Trump who signed the FSA into law in December 2018. During the Biden administration, BOP leadership spoke of milestones implementing the law but fell far short of expectations by holding people in prison longer than the law allowed. They set themselves up for failure by not expanding resources, like halfway houses, to meet the increased demand. In the BOP's June 2024 report on the FSA it stated that there have been no cost savings associated with the implementation of the law, something that was a cornerstone to the law's passing. This same statement has been in all previous BOP reports on FSA. The BOP seems to acknowledge their problems now with Director Marshall in charge. The BOP's press release stated, 'This clarification reflects the Bureau's commitment to both the letter and the spirit of the First Step Act and Second Chance Act. By maximizing both authorities where appropriate, we are expanding opportunities for successful reentry while maintaining our commitment to public safety. As indicated previously, this directive is rooted in the principle of smart, fair criminal justice reform—reform that began when President Donald J. Trump disrupted entrenched political paralysis and signed the FSA into law, delivering the most significant overhaul to the federal justice system in a generation.' The memorandum is going to be well received by inmates and their families. However, the BOP has a history of slowly implementing programs that favor inmates but quickly adopting restrictions that keep them in prison longer. The Trump administration continues to be one that looks for results among those appointed to serve and it will be up to BOP leadership to deliver on this one as the directive is clear. It is the implementation of this directive that will be the next challenge.
Forbes
31-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Prisoners Set Back By Bureau Of Prisons Home Confinement 'Expansion'
Newly appointed Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Director William Marshall III wrapped himself in the Trump flag by announcing an expansion of use of home confinement to allow prisoners more time in the community at the end of their prison sentence. Unfortunately, for many in prison the actions by the BOP will lead to longer stays in institutions, which is both more costly and a blow to those trying to get home sooner. The BOP issued a press release on May 28, 2025 touting, 'Federal Bureau of Prisons Issues Directive to Expand Home Confinement, Advance First Step Act.' However, a closer look reveals that this move neither expands home confinement nor advances First Step Act. When Trump signed the First Step Act into law in December 2018, advocates, prisoners and criminal justice reform groups all touted it as a major victory. The law was meant to both reduce the sentences for non-violent prisoners, many of whom are first time offenders, by up to a year and also give them the opportunity to serve more of their sentence under strict conditions in the community. However, the BOP has had a difficult time implementing this law under multiple directors since becoming law. It took over three years for the Department of Justice and BOP to finalize the Final Rule for First Step Act. During that time, thousands of inmates stayed in prison hoping they would receive credits to reduce their sentence. From January 2022 until now, the BOP has taken different positions on the law, leading some to get out of prison too late while others enjoyed the additional credits and were released earlier than anticipated. The BOP initially implemented the First Step Act by capping the credits through a rule that stated no credits could be earned within 6 months of release. BOP then issued a memorandum in March 2025 limiting the amount of halfway house placement for federal inmates from 12 months to 2 months, something central to the Second Chance Act, another hallmark piece of criminal justice reform. Both of these actions were rescinded after outcry from advocacy groups. In September 2024, the BOP implemented a new calculator to anticipate the effects of the First Step Act after other iterations of the calculator proved to be an inaccurate tool. The result was a predictive report that every inmate was given that provided them with a projected date for leaving the institution to live in the community and a release date from BOP custody. The reaction to those in custody and their families was immediate joy, however, that was short lived. The reports reflected 'stacking' the practice of showing the inmate both all of their First Step Act credits and the maximum amount of prerelease custody (12 months) under the Second Chance Act. To date, few inmates ever received the full compliments of these credits and the recent memorandum from Director Marshall upends 'Stacking.' Many people want to know what the new memorandum means and the BOP provided a statement clarifying their rule. When asked whether inmates are still eligible for Second Chance Act placement up to 12 months prior to their FSA conditional placement date, as has been the case, the BOP responded, 'Due to statutory restrictions found in 18 U.S.C. 3624(c)(1), an individual who has earned 365 days (12 months) of First Step Act credits to be applied to prerelease custody cannot receive additional prerelease time under the Second Chance Act.' The BOP's current stance contradicts its position from just a few months ago, when it stated that stacking First Step Act and Second Chance Act benefits was permissible. Now, without addressing its previous position, the BOP asserts that home confinement under the Second Chance Act is only allowed by law during the final 12 months of a prison sentence. Additionally, the BOP claims that home confinement under the First Step Act can only be applied when the First Step Act time credits earned are equal to the remaining length of the prison term. This means an inmate cannot apply First Step Act credits to home confinement while also receiving up to 12 months of prerelease custody (6 months in a halfway house and 6 months in home confinement) under the Second Chance Act. For many inmates, this change means they will have to remain in prison for up to a year longer than they had initially expected. The BOP's statement went on to say, 'For individuals eligible under the First Step Act (18 U.S.C. § 3624(g)), and who are projected to earn at least 365 days (12 months) of time credits for prerelease custody, referrals should be based on credits and the corresponding First Step Act Conditional Placement Date. There is no restriction concerning how many credits may be applied toward home confinement.' Those who earn a year off of their sentence and another year toward home confinement will not receive any Second Chance Act, meaning they will serve a year in a prison that could have been spent in the community. Former BOP Director Colette Peters (fired on January 20, 2025 by Trump), stated in a congressional hearing last year that capacity at BOP halfway houses was capped out. She stated at the time, "So this [halfway house capacity] is almost as significant of a problem as our recruitment and retention crisis and our infrastructure crisis, because as you're aware ... now under the First Step Act, they could spend months or years, and so that has created a substantial backlog in our residential reentry center.' In December 2018, when the First Step Act was signed into law, the residential reentry centers (or halfway houses) had a capacity of 10,500 beds. At that time, it was understood that the law would increase the number of people placed in prerelease custody. However, as of today, the capacity of halfway houses remains largely the same. As a result, those who are eligible for First Step Act credits, which would allow them to return home sooner, now find themselves competing for limited bed space with individuals who have been incarcerated for decades and rely on halfway house resources to reintegrate into society. The intent of the new memorandum was to redirect individuals who do not require halfway house services to home confinement. However, the outcome may be that fewer people are able to leave prison, and those who could have served part of their sentence in the community will end up remaining in prison for a longer period. In his press release about the expansion of halfway house use, Director Marshall said, 'President Trump said he would fight for the forgotten men and women of this country, and the First Step Act proved he meant it. Now, we are ensuring that this reform continues to work—not just as a policy, but as a promise to Americans seeking redemption and a path forward.' This new directive seems counter to Trump's promise.
