The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is rarely in the spotlight for positive change. Yet, in 2025, the agency underwent one of the most turbulent and consequential years in its modern history. From sweeping leadership changes to new initiatives under the First Step Act, the BOP’s transformation reflects both the challenges and the possibilities of criminal justice reform in the federal system.
Few agencies have experienced more leadership turnover than the BOP. When President Trump returned to office in January 2025, one of his first actions was to remove Director Colette Peters, who had led the Bureau since 2022.
Peters came to the BOP from the Oregon Department of Corrections, where she had been praised for reform-minded leadership and for emphasizing transparency, staff wellness, and rehabilitation. When she was appointed to head the BOP, many advocates saw her as a hopeful outsider who could modernize a bureaucratic and opaque agency. However, that outsider status ultimately worked against her.
Inside the BOP, Peters faced deep resistance from within. The Bureau has long been an insular agency, slow to change and protective of its internal culture. Her initiatives—ranging from better implementation of the First Step Act to more humane housing and mental-health services—were met with skepticism from staff and pushback from the union. Staffing shortages, aging infrastructure, and a culture of distrust made reform nearly impossible to sustain.
By the time the new administration arrived, Peters’ support had eroded among rank-and-file employees and political leadership alike. Her removal on day one of the Trump administration symbolized not just a change in leadership but a sharp turn in direction for the entire BOP.
In April 2025, William K. Marshall III, formerly with a small corrections agency for the state West Virginia, was appointed BOP Director. Marshall’s arrival was viewed as a chance for a fresh start after years of instability at the top. While his federal experience was limited, his pragmatic approach and willingness to listen to staff earned cautious optimism from both line employees and reform advocates. Marshall, unlike Peters and Peters’ predecessor Michael Carvajal, has yet to face congressional testimony even as Congress has asked for more BOP oversight.
One of the most significant developments in 2025 was the creation of the First Step Act Task Force, led by Rick Stover, a longtime policy advisor within the Bureau. The task force was charged with fixing the persistent problems in implementing the First Step Act (FSA), the 2018 law designed to reduce recidivism and reward inmates for participating in rehabilitative programs.
Since its passage, the FSA has been plagued by inconsistent credit calculations, delays in transferring eligible inmates to home confinement, and lack of transparency. Under Stover’s leadership, the task force began reviewing every case in which time credits had been earned but not applied. The goal was to ensure that inmates who completed programming actually received the benefits the law promised.
For the first time, BOP officials began manually reconciling sentence data with program participation, a tedious but critical step toward credibility. Early reports from the task force show progress in clearing backlogs and streamlining eligibility reviews.
Director Marshall also authorized expanded use of home confinement and community placement, directing staff to prioritize transfers for inmates with strong reentry plans and low security risks. This represents a meaningful shift toward the rehabilitative intent of the First Step Act. However, the BOP has admitted that it needs to expand capacity at its Residential Reentry Centers (halfway houses).
Another major story that is tangentially related to the BOP was the appointment of Alice Marie Johnson as the nation’s first “Pardon Czar.” Johnson, who was herself granted clemency by President Trump in 2018 after serving more than 21 years for a nonviolent drug offense, became a symbol of redemption and reform.
Her new role is to oversee clemency recommendations and streamline the process for those seeking pardons or commutations. Johnson has emphasized fairness and transparency, arguing that mercy should not be reserved for the politically connected. Her appointment sent a message that lived experience within the justice system can be an asset in policymaking.
Similarly, Trump’s hiring of Joshua J. Smith, a former federal inmate turned successful entrepreneur, as Deputy Director of the BOP was unprecedented. Smith, who once served time in federal custody and later became an advocate for prison reform, now helps shape policies affecting those still behind bars. His elevation to the agency’s number-two position was met with mixed reactions, but it undeniably marked a new chapter for an organization historically resistant to outside voices.
Not all of the year’s changes were welcomed. In September 2025, the BOP terminated its collective bargaining agreementwith the Council of Prison Locals, effectively dismantling the union that had represented more than 30,000 employees. The agency claimed that the union had become a barrier to progress, while critics saw the move as a blow to worker rights and morale.
The dissolution of the union follows a broader trend in federal labor relations under the Trump administration, which has sought to reduce the influence of organized labor in government agencies. Litigation is already underway, and the outcome will likely shape how the Bureau manages labor relations in the future.
The BOP also announced the closure of Federal Prison Camp Pensacola, a minimum-security facility in Florida known for housing white-collar offenders and other low-risk inmates. The camp, located on a military base, had suffered from structural problems and chronic staffing shortages.
Similarly, FCI Terminal Island, one of the Bureau’s oldest facilities, was targeted for closure due to extensive maintenance needs and environmental issues. The decision to close these institutions was controversial but reflects a growing recognition that maintaining outdated facilities is both unsafe and costly.
Inmates from these sites are being transferred to other low-security institutions, though the moves have raised concerns about overcrowding and access to programs.
Recognizing the Bureau’s deteriorating infrastructure and chronic staffing crisis, Congress approved billions of dollars in new funding for the BOP in 2025. The funds are earmarked for staff retention, facility upgrades, and modernization projects across the system. After years of deferred maintenance and underfunding, this investment represents a rare bipartisan acknowledgment that the agency cannot function without serious structural improvement.
The funding bill also includes money to improve health care access, expand substance abuse treatment, and increase educational programming. Advocates hope that the influx of resources will reduce violence, improve staff morale, and create more meaningful opportunities for inmates to prepare for reentry.
The events of 2025 reflect the contradictions at the heart of federal corrections. The BOP remains one of the most complex, insular, and criticized agencies in the federal government with an annual budget of over $8 billion. Leadership turnover, substandard medical care, labor strife, and aging facilities continue to plague it. Yet, there are signs of progress: a new focus on implementing the First Step Act, greater investment in rehabilitation, and a willingness to include people with lived experience in positions of authority.
Colette Peters’ departure underscores how difficult it is to reform a system that resists change from the inside. But the appointments of Alice Johnson, Josh Smith, and William Marshall show that transformation is still possible when leadership is willing to take risks and reimagine how the Bureau operates.
The challenge now is whether these changes will take root or fade under the weight of bureaucracy. Real reform requires consistency, funding, and a culture that values accountability over secrecy. If the BOP can hold on to this moment of transition and build upon it, 2025 may be remembered not just as a year of upheaval but as the beginning of a more humane and effective era in federal corrections.
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