Let’s End the ‘Death Rattle’ Rule

By Julie Stewart

The Federal Bureau of Prison’s “compassionate release” program is wasteful and cruel.

"Prison Consultant" Business Expanding; Can They Do Any Good?

The New York Times profiles the business of prison consulting," ex-cons' selling their advice to future inmates. "This industry's exploding," says one of the, Larry Levine, who runs two websites, American Prison Consultants and Wall Street Prison Consultants. More competition means rising tempers and flying accusations, the Times says. Some prison consultants say that others are so lacking in expertise that their businesses are practically criminal enterprises.

The competitors walk a fine marketing line, bragging about an extensive criminal record to attract customers. That can make it tough for potential clients to choose: How much incarceration time is enough? What kind of experience is right for the job? Do the consultants make a difference? They can, say people who work in the criminal justice system. A sharp consultant can help with complicated paperwork, in much the same way that a college consultant can help a family navigate complicated financial aid forms.

Examining U.S. Corrections Policy

By Ted Gest

 A blue-ribbon panel of national scholars inaugurates a major project to study why U.S. incarceration rates are among the world’s highest.

Blagojevich Heads to Prison; "Boredom Is The Main Enemy"

Blagojevich Gets Colorado Prison Choice, Lockup with Good Reputation

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich will serve his 14-year sentence at a federal prison in scenic Englewood, Co., reports the Chicago Tribune. Blagojevich, who is due to report to prison by March 15, hopes to enroll in a substance-abuse program at the prison, which could shave off up to a year of his sentence. Englewood has a reputation for being less crowded and violent than other facilities in the federal system.

Scott Fawell, a co-defendant of former Illinois Gov. George Ryan, said, “Most of the guys I knew (that were familiar with Englewood) said it was nice. It beats being in the middle of cornfields. Most places where they build prisons are not nice. They’re (dumps).” The flamboyant former governor will become Englewood's most famous resident, though it also houses disgraced Enron executive Jeffrey Skilling. Prison staff tend to take a hard line with high-profile inmates, especially early in their sentence, Fawell said. Being in an area where the staff will know less about him might mean he gets a little kinder treatment, he said.

Only 1/5 of U.S. Inmates Get Maximum Term Reduction Via Drug Treatment

Only 19 percent of federal inmates in the Residential Drug Abuse Treatment Program can finish treatment in time to earn a the maximum possible sentence reduction of a year, says the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The review said inmates over a three year period who completed the program earned an average sentence reduction of 8 months.

GAO looked at the federal prison bureau's limited ability to reduce terms. Federal prison population has risen from about 145,000 in 2000 to about 217,000 in 2011 and facilities overall are 38 percent over capacity. GAO found that almost 29,000 inmates finished sentences through community corrections in fiscal year 2010, after an average placement of about 4 months.

Sensenbrenner: U.S. System Needs More Mandatory Prison Sentences

Some Republicans want to overhaul federal sentencing and bring back more mandatory prison terms to bring more order back into the process, says NPR...

Charles Samuels Named to Lead U.S. Bureau of Prisons

Charles E. Samuels Jr. was named director of the U.S. Bureau of Prisons Wednesday by Attorney General Eric Holder. The appointment of Samuels, a 23-year veteran of the agency, means that Holder rejected calls for leadership of the bureau, one of the largest Justice Department units, by an outsider. Holder said Samuels "will provide the kind of effective and innovative leadership that will increase efficiency, further expand prisoner development and reentry programs, and allow for transparency and accountability at the Federal Bureau of Prisons – while remaining true to the BOP’s core mission of protecting public safety.”

Samuels currently serves as assistant director of the bureau's Correctional Programs Division, overseeing all inmate management functions. He started as a federal corrections officer in 1988.  Among several positions, he has been a warden of federal prisons in Manchester, Ky. and Ft. Dix, N.J. Last spring, the American Bar Association suggested that Holder name a director with a broad range of experience to head the bureau, noting that it always had named a director from within its ranks. Later, two dozen criminal justice groups called for a reformer to head what it called a "bloated" agency that "functions at nearly 140% capacity where prisoners are warehoused, rather than rehabilitated," Samuels succeeds Harley Lappin, who retired in May after he was arrested for drunk driving.

Blagojevich Seeks Substance-Abuse Treatment in Prison, Could Cut Term

Convicted former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich wants to enroll in a substance-abuse program at a federal prison outside of Denver, a move that could shave up to a year off of his prison sentence, reports the Chicago Tribune. The move raises questions about whether Blagojevich suffers from a real substance-abuse problem or is simply angling to reduce his stiff 14-year sentence. Former associates of convicted former Illinois Gov. George Ryan said it didn’t take much to get into the Residential Drug Abuse Treatment Program — as little as regularly consuming five alcoholic drinks a week before they had been incarcerated.

“Any defense lawyer in town that’s worth their salt all know about this and they all try to get their clients in,” said Scott Fawell, Ryan’s former chief of staff who cut his sentence by 8 months by completing the drug program at a federal prison in Yankton, S.D. “(A lot) of the people who go through the system now ask for it or attempt to get in. How many actually need it, I couldn’t tell you.” U.S. District Judge James Zagel agreed to recommend Blagojevich for the counseling program at a low-security prison in Littleton, Co., but the ultimate decision will be made by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. Under federal guidelines, inmates must have “a verifiable substance-use disorder.” Federal prisons spokesman Chris Burke said, “We look for evidence that the inmate has a documented substance-abuse history before their arrest. If that is five drinks a week and there is something to verify that beyond that inmate’s statement, that might qualify.”

Can ICE Police Itself?

By Lisa Riordan Seville

Civil liberties activists say the Department of Homeland Security is undermining Congress’ efforts to apply the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) to immigrant detainees.

Obama Pardons Five, Issues 1st Sentence Commutation in Drug Case

A commutation of sentence by President Obama in a cocaine case is his first such action, 1,035 days into his presidential term, says Illinois political scientist P. S. Ruckman in his Pardon Power blog. Obama commuted a 20-year prison term for Eugenia Jennings, 34, of Alton, Il. He also issued five pardons, bringing his total number of clemency actions to 23.

Ruckman says the six offenders on average were sentenced 18.8 years ago. One of them had had no prison sentence and only 12 months' probation. Ruckman says that, "At least arguably, this batch of pardons, however small, does appear to be something like a more significant / serious / relevant use of the pardon power. Is the President waking up?"

Ex-PA Sen. Fumo Tells How Federal Prisoner's Life Not Club Fed

Former Pennsylvania State Senator Vincent Fumo, who is being resentenced on federal corruption charges, describes in e-mails obtained by the Philadelphia Daily News a two-week journey "in shackles and chains" from Ashland, Ky., to Philadelphia so that he can appear in court. Fumo, 68, said, "I can now walk with leg irons with the best of them and I can even do it up and down stairs!" He described how he could eat a sandwich while handcuffed with the cuffs chained to his waist.

Fumo's attorney, Dennis Cogan, said authorities had told him Fumo was in solitary confinement because he was a "security risk" due to the publicity surrounding him. U.S. Bureau of Prisons spokesman Ed Ross said that whenever inmates are transported together, they are secured with a waist chain, and hand and leg restraints, "because inmates of all security levels" travel together. "It's shameful we treat people like this," Cogan said. "This is not somebody who's a terrorist. I honestly believe if the public understood what happens to prisoners, they would have a different view of prison. It's not Club Fed."

1,900 U.S. Inmates Eligible for Release In Crack Penalty Change

Darryl Flood thought he would have to wait until 2013 to get out of prison, more than a decade after he pleaded guilty in a federal cocaine case. Now, says...

Some U.S. Mandatory Minimums Called "Excessively Severe"

Some federal mandatory minimum penalties "apply too broadly, are excessively severe, and are applied inconsistently across the country," the U.S. Sentencing Commission said in a report to Congress. The panel recommended that lawmakers "consider possible tailoring of the 'safety
valve' relief mechanism to other low-level, non-violent offenders convicted of other offenses carrying mandatory minimum penalties." It called on Congress to reevaluate the “stacking” of mandatory minimum penalties for certain federal firearms offenses because some of the resulting penalties "can be excessively severe and unjust, particularly in circumstances where there is no physical harm or threat of physical harm."

The commission said mandatory minimum penalties have contributed to a federal prison population that is 37 percent over capacity. As of September 30, 2010, about 39 percent of federal prisoners were  subject to a mandatory minimum penalty at sentencing. Drug offenses accounted for 75 percent of mandatory minimum terms.

Justice Groups Seek Senate Funding for Second Chance Act

Several dozen criminal justice organizations have written to leaders of the Senate committee that funds the Justice Department urging continued funding...