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December 17, 2025

Finding Little Compassion In Compassionate Release: U.S. V Williams

Compassionate release is one of the few mechanisms in the federal criminal justice system that allows incarcerated individuals to seek a reduction in their sentence because of extraordinary circumstances. These circumstances often involve serious medical conditions, advanced age, or unique family situations. The authority comes from 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A), which permits a court to reduce a term of imprisonment if extraordinary and compelling reasons justify the reduction and if it aligns with the sentencing factors in § 3553(a) (i.e. seriousness, deterrence, public protection, rehabilitation, and avoiding disparities, aiming for a sentence "sufficient, but not greater than necessary").

December 16, 2025

The Bureau Of Prisons Launches Podcast To Highlight New Direction

When William Marshall III stepped into the Director’s office at the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) just five months ago, he found an agency adrift, disconnected, underfunded, and mistrusted by many of its own. The BOP had earned a painful distinction: one of the worst places to work in the federal government. But sitting across from his newly appointed Deputy Director, Josh Smith, in a candid podcast called Transparency Talks, Marshall didn’t sound defeated. He sounded determined. Together, these two men, one a lifelong law enforcement leader from West Virginia, the other a corrections reform advocate with a personal history in the system, spoke with remarkable candor about what they inherited, what’s broken, and how they plan to fix it.

December 12, 2024

Biden To Commute Sentences Of Those On CARES Act Home Confinement

Each day, over 1,500 prisoners are relieved that they are serving their prison term on home confinement rather than being in one of 122 Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) facilities. They represent the last of those prisoners on home confinement who were allowed to be part of CARES Act transfer, a program started as COVID-19 struck the U.S. and ripped through the prison system. The program allowed mostly minimum security prisoners, with no history of violence, to serve their remaining prison sentence on home confinement. For many, that meant serving years of their sentence at home rather than prison. Today, the Biden administration announced that those remaining prisoners who have served at least a year on home confinement under CARES Act will have their sentence commuted. It is one of the largest commutations announced in a single day by any U.S. President.

December 5, 2024

Federal Bureau Of Prisons Closing Prisons Ahead Of Trump Presidency

The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) announced a surprise move to close 6 federal prison camps and permanently close FCI Dublin. FCI Dublin, a troubled women’s prison in California that earned the name “Rape Club” after the warden, chaplain and several staff members were found guilty of federal crimes for inappropriate relationships with female prisoners.

December 3, 2024

Presidents Are Talking Pardons And That Is Positive

There are more than turkeys being pardoned this holiday season. Joe Biden made news by announcing a presidential pardon for his son Hunter Biden who faced two separate federal criminal charges. The pardon means Hunter Biden will not be sentenced for his crimes, and it eliminates any chance that he will be sent to prison. The judges overseeing his cases will likely cancel the sentencing hearings, which were slated for December 12 in the gun case and December 16 in the tax case.