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Meet Joshua Smith, New Deputy Director Of Bureau Of Prisons

There have been many “Firsts” in the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). The first director of the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) was Sanford Bates who got the job in 1930. Charles Samuels was the first African American director and Kathleen Hawk Sawyer was the first woman director. Now, a Deputy Director has been named to the BOP and that too will be a first.

Trump Makes News With More Pardons And Commutations

During his first term, President Donald Trump issued a total of 238 pardons and commutations (143 pardons and 85 commutations). Like presidents before him, the majority of those receiving commutations had served a significant part of their prison term while most all of those pardoned had completed their sentence years ago.

Bureau Of Prisons Inconsistent On A Provision In The First Step Act

When can an eligible prisoner begin to earn First Step Act (FSA) credits?It seems like a simple question and the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has determined that the prisoner can begin earning credits once they are at their designated facility. For those prisoners who self surrender to prison, many are low and minimum security prisoners, the credits start on the day the person arrived at prison. However, for some prisoners, they are remanded at the time of sentencing and then transported to their designated facility, a process that can take months as prisoners make their way through holdovers and county jails until they reach their final designation. Them arriving at their final designated institution is completely out of their control.

Choosing A Prison For A Former President

President Donald Trump became the first U.S. President to be convicted of a felony. He is also the first presumptive nominee of a major party to face a prison sentence just days before he is likely to be win the Republican Party’s nomination for president. If a prison sentence is imposed, there is a possibility Mr. Trump could end up in the same prison as a former head of state held in a federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) institution decades ago.

Bureau Of Prisons Stumbles On Reducing Costs On Incarceration

In December 2018, the United States Congress overwhelmingly adopted the First Step Act, which then-President Donald Trump signed into law. The law provided a way to allow inmates to earn credits toward reducing their sentence by up to a year by participating in programming and productive activities. In addition, credits could be earned to allow inmates to serve an unlimited amount of time on home confinement based on the number of credits they earned.