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November 27, 2025

Out Of Prison, Baseball Agent Bart Hernandez Gives Back

Few figures in modern baseball have traveled a road as dramatic, or as redemptive, as Bartolo “Bart” Hernandez. He was a respected sport agent celebrated for helping Cuban stars find freedom and fame in Major League Baseball, Hernandez’s name later became synonymous with scandal after a federal conviction that exposed the darker side of the sport’s international recruiting. Today, though, his story is one grounded in humility, philanthropy, and the transformative power of service.‍

November 21, 2025

Deputy Director Of Bureau Of Prisons Describes Agency “On The Brink”

A hundred days into his tenure as Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Josh Smith delivered a speechthat struck a familiar chord, a promise to restore transparency and accountability to an agency he called “in shambles.” Speaking candidly about staffing shortfalls, decaying infrastructure, and the mismanagement of federal prison reform programs, Smith positioned himself and BOP Director William Marshall III as reformers empowered by President Donald Trump to fix decades of dysfunction.

Sex Offenders With Autism Face Obstacles In Federal Prison

Incarceration is challenging for most individuals, but it poses unique and often severe hardships for those with mental health conditions such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). For inmates with sex offense convictions, the prison environment is particularly hostile, marked by frequent bullying, social isolation, and even physical violence. When an individual has both ASD and a sex offense conviction, the combination can be profoundly damaging—amounting to a near-constant psychological assault on someone who may struggle to fully comprehend their offense or the intense hostility they face behind bars.

Bureau Of Prisons Could Fix First Step Act, If It Had The Will

A tenant of our criminal justice system is rooted in the concept of swift and certain punishment, which refers to the principle that the consequences for criminal behavior should be imposed quickly and predictably following a violation. Neither of these hold up well in federal cases that often take over a year to reach a jury, or plea, and terms of incarceration are subject to the interpretation of rules that can keep people in prison longer than the inmate realized.

Bureau Of Prisons Task Force Taking Shape, Challenges Remain

The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) announced the formation of its First Step Act (FSA) Task Force earlier this month to target moving more inmates from federal prisons to community placement, known as prerelease custody. The BOP is also maximizing bed-space in Residential Reentry Centers (halfway houses) for those in most need of these important reentry services. The initiative is part of fully implementing the FSA, which was signed into law by Donald J. Trump in December 2018 during his first term in office.