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We Support Home Confinement in Arizona
January 31, 2026–Due Process Institute joined a coalition letter urging the Arizona Prosecuting Attorneys Advisory Council to support legislation that would allow certain low-risk, nonviolent individuals to serve the final portion of their prison sentences on home confinement. The proposal—introduced by Sen. Kevin Payne and Rep. Khyl Powell—would establish a carefully structured program with strict eligibility requirements, including risk assessments, compliance with prison rules, and continuous GPS monitoring. Participants would be subject to regular check-ins and swift consequences for violations, ensuring strong accountability and public safety protections.
The legislation draws on successful federal models, including the First Step Act and the CARES Act home confinement initiative. Those programs demonstrated that targeted home confinement can safely reduce incarceration while lowering recidivism rates and saving taxpayer dollars. By adopting a similar approach, Arizona policymakers have an opportunity to ease prison overcrowding, address staffing shortages, and support successful reentry—all while reserving prison space for individuals who pose the greatest public safety risks.
We Urge Congress to Fund the Federal Prison Oversight Act in FY2026 Appropriations
April 22, 2025–Due Process Institute, the undersigned national, state, and local public health, criminal justice reform, and civil rights organizations wrote to urge Congress to support the funding of the Federal Prison Oversight Act. The passage of the bipartisan Federal Prison Oversight Act (FPOA) marked a major milestone in the push for accountability and transparency within the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). This critical legislation provides a long-overdue framework for addressing systemic issues in federal correctional facilities through comprehensive independent oversight, but its success depends on Congress ensuring it is fully funded in the FY2026 appropriations bill.
The BOP oversees more than 150,000 incarcerated individuals and employs tens of thousands of staff, with an annual budget exceeding $8 billion. Yet, until now, the BOP has operated with limited independent oversight, leading to serious and well-documented consequences for correctional staff, incarcerated individuals, and their families. The FPOA provides solutions to these challenges by:
We ask that the CJS Appropriations for FY2026 include up to $40 million to enact and sustain the Federal Prison Oversight Act. This funding equates to just 0.5 percent of the BOP budget and is crucial for supporting the Correctional Ombudsman and ensuring their independence; conducting comprehensive, risk-based inspections to improve safety, accountability, and facility conditions; and establishing systems for transparent complaint processing and timely resolution. The near-unanimous bipartisan support for the FPOA reflects a shared recognition that comprehensive oversight is necessary to address the BOP’s systemic challenges. However, without adequate funding, the transformative potential of this legislation cannot be realized. We urge Congress to prioritize dedicated funding for the FPOA in FY2026 appropriations to ensure its timely implementation; reaffirm bipartisan support for this critical initiative; and demonstrating a continued commitment to accountability, transparency, and public safety.
The FPOA is not just about improving conditions within federal prisons—it is about honoring shared values of justice, transparency, and efficient governance. Adequate funding will allow us to build a correctional system that is safer, more accountable, and better aligned with our nation’s principles. Furthermore, independent oversight can prevent abuse, reduce recidivism, and ensure taxpayer dollars are used responsibly. While this is good fiscal policy, without funding, FPOA mandates cannot be effectively implemented.
We Urge Congress to Pass the Reentry Act and Due Process Continuity of Care Act
November 18, 2024–Due Process Institute and 66 undersigned organizations urged members of Congress to pass the Reentry Act (H.R.2400 / S.1165) and Due Process Continuity of Care Act (H.R.3074 / S.971) by the end of the session. This legislation will help integrate substance use treatment into carceral settings, reduce recidivism, and prevent needless overdose deaths. The Reentry Act would allow Medicaid coverage to start 30 days before release and the Due Process Continuity of Care Act would allow Medicaid coverage while an individual is awaiting trial. Both bills have bipartisan support in the current Congress, with each bill garnering nearly 100 co-sponsors. During a deadly overdose crisis, these bills are commonsense solutions to increase the availability of substance use disorder treatment for incarcerated individuals, decrease overdose deaths, and better protect public health and safety.
Fatal drug overdoses are the fastest growing cause of death amongst incarcerated individuals. Additionally, inmates re-entering society are the most vulnerable population to experience a fatal overdose – individuals reentering society post incarceration are 129 times likelier to die of a drug overdose than the general population during the two weeks following their release. Finally, increasing access to medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) saves lives and has been associated with an 80% reduction in overdose mortality risk for the first month post-release.
By allowing Medicaid coverage during the critical windows when an individual is returning to the community from incarceration and the period while they are awaiting trial, the Reentry Act and Due Process Continuity of Care Act represent two of the strongest opportunities for the 118th Congress to increase public safety and improve public health outcomes nationwide. Due Process Institute urges Congress to pass these pieces of legislation by the end of the session to save lives and to extend the hope of healing to communities across the country. With more than 100,000 overdose deaths occurring each year, the time to expand access to safe and effective treatment is now.
Due Process Institute Celebrates President Biden Signing Federal Prison Oversight Act Into Law
July 10, 2024– Statement by Shana-Tara O’Toole, Founder and President of Due Process Institute, on President Biden signing the Federal Prison Oversight Act into law:
“We are delighted that President Biden has signed the Federal Prison Oversight Act into law. Passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in the House and passed by unanimous consent in the Senate, this landmark legislation will improve safety for incarcerated people and prison staff by requiring inspections of all Bureau of Prison (BOP) facilities and reporting the findings to Congress. These reforms ensure proper oversight of the BOP and create accountability, transparency, and safety within our federal prison system.
The passage of the Federal Prison Oversight Act is a culmination of tireless work from a wide array of reform organizations, including Due Process Institute. This is yet another reminder that commonsense criminal legal reform has support from both sides of the aisle.
Finally, we would like to thank President Biden, Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND-At Large), Rep. Lucy McBath (D-GA-7), Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA), and Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN) for their leadership in supporting this bill.”
Due Process Institute Celebrates the House Passage of the Federal Prison Oversight Act
May 21, 2024–Statement by Shana-Tara O’Toole, Founder and President of Due Process Institute, on the House of Representatives passing the Federal Prison Oversight Act:
“We applaud the House of Representatives for passing the Federal Prison Oversight Act (H.R. 3019) by a 392-2 vote. Given the history of inhumane prison conditions inside the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) and the recent Inspector General report on deaths in custody, this legislation was desperately needed and long overdue. The bill will improve safety for incarcerated people and prison staff by requiring inspections of all BOP facilities and reporting the findings to Congress. It will also establish an independent Department of Justice ombudsman to receive complaints from incarcerated persons on health and safety issues.
We thank Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND-At Large) and Lucy McBath (D-GA-7), along with a long list of bipartisan cosponsors, for their leadership in supporting this bill. The 196 Republican and 196 Democrat members of Congress who voted for this bill demonstrate commonsense criminal legal reform still has wide bipartisan support. We now urge the Senate to take up and pass this bill with desperately needed oversight of the Bureau of Prisons. It is time for accountability, transparency, and safety in our federal prison system.”
We Call for House Oversight to Advance the Federal Prison Oversight Act
April 9, 2024–Due Process Institute and a bipartisan coalition of criminal justice reform organizations urged House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer to support and advance the Federal Prison Oversight Act (H.R. 3019). We strongly support this effort to improve the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) because it is aligned with core values of ensuring government accountability and improving public safety. This common sense legislation accomplishes these goals by increasing accountability in our prison system, preventing harm to both those living and working in these facilities, and providing transparency for those individuals serving to keep prisons safe as well as the public at large.
America’s prison system is in crisis. Support of independent prison oversight stems from irrefutable evidence of failure that puts corrections officers and those they oversee at risk of serious injury, exemplified by facilities that are overcrowded, understaffed, underfunded, unsafe, and in a state of dangerous disrepair. The absence of oversight has given rise to a prison system that is rampant with abuse, neglect, and mismanagement, making rehabilitation difficult and endangering everyone who lives and works in a federal prison. The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) employs over 34,000 people and is responsible for the care of over 150,000 people with a budget north of $8 billion. Still, the BOP has historically operated with little transparency and accountability. The BOP should be safer and more productive for the people who reside and work in their facilities, and more accountable and transparent to taxpayers. It is known that when correctional officers are given the proper resources and prisoners are provide to pathways to rehabilitation there is a direct increase in public safety through reduced recidivism rates.
In a national poll, 82% of Americans said they believe there should be a system of independent oversight of our federal prisons. Support for H.R.3019 benefits not only individuals who are incarcerated, correctional staff, and communities, but also members of Congress. Equipped with the insights of an oversight body that conducts routine inspections, investigates systemic issues, collects and analyzes data, and reports its findings, members of Congress can make more informed policy and appropriations decisions. These decisions can save lives and ensure correctional staff can focus on fostering a safe environment behind bars which leads to success when incarcerated individuals return to society.
DPI Submits Comments on Proposed BOP Rule Banning Social Media
March 29, 2024–Due Process Institute and Justice Action Network submitted comments on a proposed Bureau of Prisons (BOP) rule that would prohibit incarcerated persons from “accessing, using, or maintaining social media, or directing others to establish or maintain social media accounts on [their] behalf.”
The proposed language would unjustly punish people incarcerated at Bureau of Prisons (BOP) facilities using the harshest possible means for communication on social media, without regard to whether the communication has a legitimate legal or personal purpose. We believe that a full and total ban would be excessive in its own right, but a ban with significant sanctions for violations is an extreme policy. This rule is especially concerning when proposed amid increasing documented instances of abuse, including rape and unconstitutionally inhumane conditions such as substandard medical care and more at BOP facilities. Further, victims of this abuse have faced retaliation or cover-ups by prison personnel or other incarcerated people, and can thus feel a chilling effect when reporting issues through the normal channels.
Many individuals who are incarcerated have family and friends who are concerned about their well-being while in prison. Not only do we know that maintaining these contacts is vital for incarcerated peoples’ mental health, considering the likelihood of abuse and poor conditions, these concerns are justifiable. Social media provides a way for incarcerated individuals, families, and friends to raise awareness of violence, sexual abuse, unsafe and unsanitary conditions, and more inside the walls of federal prison facilities. Social media also provides a means to advocate for an incarcerated individual beyond the conditions inside of prisons, which may include ongoing court proceedings, appeals, and clemency or pardon petitions.
BOP Director Colette Peters has long stated that she believes in increasing transparency at the BOP, and has said she wants to humanize and normalize life in prison. Including this language in the proposed rule runs contrary to these views. We oppose the inclusion of this language on social media use and urge the BOP to remove it from the proposed rule.
We Urge Senators To Oppose SJ.Res.47
November 3, 2023–Due Process Institute and Justice Action Network urged senators to oppose S.J.Res. 47, which would nullify a specific provision of the CARES Act and return nearly 3,400 nonviolent individuals who have a minimal or low risk of recidivism and who have started the process of rebuilding their lives back to prison.
In March 2020, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.1 Sec. 12003 of the CARES Act provided the Bureau of Prisons with authority “to place” individuals into home confinement for the length of the “covered emergency period.” The authority to place individuals into home confinement ended 30 days after the termination of the national emergency related to COVID-19.
The specific provision of the CARES Act, 12003(b)(2), states, “During the covered emergency period, if the Attorney General finds that emergency conditions will materially affect the functioning of the Bureau, the Director of the Bureau may lengthen the maximum amount of time for which the Director is authorized to place a prisoner in home confinement under the first sentence of section 3624(c)(2) of title 18, United States Code, as the Director determines appropriate.”
In December 2021, the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) issued an opinion stating that “[n]othing in the CARES Act or any other statute convinces us that the expiration of the power to lengthen home confinement placements necessarily operates to shorten home confinement placements that were already lawfully lengthened.” In April 2023, the Department of Justice (DOJ) published the final rule relating to home confinement under the CARES Act. DOJ received only one comment against the proposed rule and 66 comments in support.
Furthermore, nullifying home confinement opportunities provided by the CARES Act is bad policy. The cost of incarcerating an individual is $120.59 per day while home confinement costs only $55.26 per day. Annualized, the total cost of incarceration for all of these individuals is $148,507,791 per year compared to $68,053,243 for home confinement. These individuals have also taken significant rehabilitative steps in home confinement, including securing employment, becoming members of church and faith groups, enrolling in college, volunteering in their communities, caring for elderly parents and children, and mending relationships with families. Finally, as of September 1, only 27 people out of 13,000 placed into home confinement have committed new crimes, a new crime rate of 0.19 percent.
We Urge Senators To Oppose SJ.Res.47
November 3, 2023–Due Process Institute and Justice Action Network urged senators to oppose S.J.Res. 47, which would nullify a specific provision of the CARES Act and return nearly 3,400 nonviolent individuals who have a minimal or low risk of recidivism and who have started the process of rebuilding their lives back to prison.
In March 2020, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.1 Sec. 12003 of the CARES Act provided the Bureau of Prisons with authority “to place” individuals into home confinement for the length of the “covered emergency period.” The authority to place individuals into home confinement ended 30 days after the termination of the national emergency related to COVID-19.
The specific provision of the CARES Act, 12003(b)(2), states, “During the covered emergency period, if the Attorney General finds that emergency conditions will materially affect the functioning of the Bureau, the Director of the Bureau may lengthen the maximum amount of time for which the Director is authorized to place a prisoner in home confinement under the first sentence of section 3624(c)(2) of title 18, United States Code, as the Director determines appropriate.”
In December 2021, the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) issued an opinion stating that “[n]othing in the CARES Act or any other statute convinces us that the expiration of the power to lengthen home confinement placements necessarily operates to shorten home confinement placements that were already lawfully lengthened.” In April 2023, the Department of Justice (DOJ) published the final rule relating to home confinement under the CARES Act. DOJ received only one comment against the proposed rule and 66 comments in support.
Furthermore, nullifying home confinement opportunities provided by the CARES Act is bad policy. The cost of incarcerating an individual is $120.59 per day while home confinement costs only $55.26 per day. Annualized, the total cost of incarceration for all of these individuals is $148,507,791 per year compared to $68,053,243 for home confinement. These individuals have also taken significant rehabilitative steps in home confinement, including securing employment, becoming members of church and faith groups, enrolling in college, volunteering in their communities, caring for elderly parents and children, and mending relationships with families. Finally, as of September 1, only 27 people out of 13,000 placed into home confinement have committed new crimes, a new crime rate of 0.19 percent.
DPI Submits Comment on the Department of Justice’s Proposed Rules For CARES Act Home Confinement
July 21, 2022–Due Process Institute was joined in comment by American Civil Liberties Union, Color Of Change, Democracy Forward Foundation, Due Process Institute, Federal Public & Community Defenders, Justice Action Network, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and Tzedek Association to commend DOJ for its ongoing use of its CARES Act authority to permit individuals placed on home confinement during the COVID-19 emergency to remain on home confinement. In addition to the continuation of the Department of Justice’s CARES Act authority, we recommend any potential return to a correctional facility must be consistent with clearly established criteria and procedures that further the purpose of home confinement and comport with due process and for the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to establish clear criteria and procedures—through notice-and-comment rulemaking—for how it will assess individuals subject to potential return to a federal facility.
We Support the Senate Prison Policy Working Group
February 17, 2022–Due Process Institute joined nine other leading prison reform, civil rights, and law enforcement organizations to applaud the formation of the bipartisan Senate Prison Policy Working Group. Led by Senators Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and Mike Braun (R-IN), the group will work to develop bipartisan policies and proposals to strengthen oversight of the Federal prison system and improve communication between the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Congress, and other stakeholders.
“We are excited to see the formation of a bipartisan Prison Policy Working Group and strongly urge Republicans and Democrats to join this important group of members who are working to improve the Bureau of Prisons. Nearly three years after the passage of the First Step Act, it’s clear there is still much work to be done to increase transparency, efficiency, and fairness and the COVID-19 pandemic magnified the long-existing underutilization of compassionate release,” said Jason Pye, Director of Rule of Law Initiatives.
“Due Process Institute looks forward to working with the members of the Prison Policy Working Group to improve the way our federal corrections system operates.”
We Endorse the Congressional Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Reform Caucus
October 4, 2021–Due Process Institute and nine of the nation’s other leading prison reform advocacy groups endorsed the Congressional Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Reform Caucus, a bipartisan group of 25 lawmakers formed by Congressman Fred Keller last year in an effort to increase accountability and transparency within the federal Bureau of Prisons.
“We are excited to see the formation of a bipartisan BOP Reform Caucus and strongly urge Republicans and Democrats to join this important group of members who are working to improve the Bureau of Prisons. Nearly three years after the passage of the First Step Act, it’s clear there is still much work to be done to increase transparency, efficiency, and fairness and the COVID-19 pandemic magnified the long-existing underutilization of compassionate release,” said Jason Pye, Director of Rule of Law Initiatives. “Due Process Institute looks forward to working with the members of the BOP Caucus to improve the way our federal corrections system operates.”
We Endorse the Emergency GRACE Act to Help Federal Prisoners Access Compassionate Release
June 17, 2021–Due Process Institute endorses the Emergency GRACE Act of 2021 to make compassionate release more accessible for federal prisoners. The provisions of this legislation will ensure everyone incarcerated in a federal prison can apply directly to a judge for compassionate release, create a presumption of a sentence reduction, and provide $50 million for state prison systems to implement compassionate release systems. Furthermore, it will expand compassionate release opportunities for those sentenced prior to November 1987 and provide deserving candidates a chance for release.
We Urge Against Re-Incarcerating Individuals On Home Confinement
April 1, 2021–Due Process Institute joined a bipartisan coalition calling for the Department of Justice (DOJ) to rescind a legal memo forcing the return of people serving their sentences on home confinement to federal prison. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress enacted the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) which allowed elderly, medically vulnerable, and low public safety risk individuals to be transferred to home confinement. However, the DOJ’s recent legal memo states the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) must re-incarcerate everyone on CARES Act home confinement at the end of the covered emergency period if they do not otherwise qualify for it.
Adhering to this memo would be devastating for thousands of individuals who have re-established themselves in their communities, have a negative effect on public safety, and exact an enormous human cost. It would also be unsupported by law as the CARES Act neither requires nor permits the BOP to return individuals transferred to home confinement to prison absent a violation of their conditions. Allowing those on home confinement to remain on home confinement is an important step to address the toll of over-incarceration and the need to reduce the size of the federal prison population.
We Support Reform of Medical Release in Oregon
March 26, 2021–Due Process Institute joined a diverse bipartisan coalition urging the Oregon State Senate to pass Senate Bill 835 and implement vital reforms to medical release laws. Currently, Oregon’s medical release system is plagued by obstacles including strict eligibility requirements, categorical exclusions, and time-consuming review processes. These existing barriers have been brought into even sharper focus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the proposed reforms would introduce a common-sense and data-driven approach to ensure medical release is available to all adults in custody whose condition necessitates a safe and humane release from incarceration.
We Call for the Release of People at Heightened Risk of COVID-19
March 12, 2021–Due Process Institute and a bipartisan coalition joined to urge Attorney General Merrick Garland and the Department of Justice to release federal inmates at greater risk of COVID-19 and health complications. Under relevant provisions of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) can and should provide greater protection for older incarcerated individuals, expand home confinement and compassionate release to people with more time left on their sentences, and stop using infractions as an immediate disqualifier from release. Implementing these changes would allow for more at-risk individuals to qualify for release and would save countless lives during the COVID-19 pandemic.
We Endorse Bipartisan Bill to Increase Compassionate Release + Elderly Home Detention Programs
February 12, 2021–Amid the COVID-19 public health pandemic, we endorse today’s introduction of bipartisan legislation to reform the Elderly Home Detention Pilot Program and compassionate release program for federal prisons. Hundreds of federal prisoners with pre-existing medical conditions that made them more vulnerable to COVID-19 have already died as a result of the virus, more than half of whom were over 60 years old. Since the beginning of the pandemic (as well as since the passage of the First Step Act’s compassionate release reforms), the Federal Bureau of Prisons has opposed nearly all compassionate release requests. The COVID-19 Safer Detention Act (S. 312) would make several critical changes to the law that are necessary to save vulnerable lives. Due Process Institute urges its immediate passage of this important effort led by Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA).
DPI Joins Coalition Calling for Expanded Use of Parole in Pennsylvania During COVID-19 Crisis
August 26, 2020–Due Process Institute joined a coalition of legislative leaders, policy organizations, and legal professionals in calling upon the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons to release more individuals from state prison who are serving unjust sentences, have substantiated claims that were wrongly convicted, and are deserving of grace given their ability to achieve restoration in prison. We urge the Board to utilize its clemency power to its full extent during this time of uncertainty in ways that will not harm public safety.
Coalition Calls for Consideration of COVID-19 Safer Detention Act
July 24, 2020–Due Process Institute joined a bipartisan coalition of national and local groups calling on the U.S. Senate to allow consideration of the bipartisan COVID-19 Safe Detention Act sponsored by Senators Durbin, Grassley, and Cramer as part of the next COVID-19 response package. This legislation will reduce overcrowding in federal prisons by streamlining the individualized determination of compassionate release and home detention motions for those who are extremely vulnerable to COVID-19 given their age or medical condition.
We Endorse Bipartisan Bill to Ease Suffering of Vulnerable People in Prison
June 23, 2020–In a time of national crisis, Due Process Institute is grateful for the work of Senators Durbin and Grassley for introducing the COVID-19 Safer Detention Act, which will address some of the many issues facing older and sick populations in prison during this deadly virus.
The bill does a number of important things: it expands the eligibility for the existing home detention program to include nonviolent offenders who have served half their sentence as well as older nonviolent people incarcerated in federal prisons for offenses committed in Washington, D.C. The bill ensures that federal “old law prisoners” (those sentenced before 11/1/87 when federal parole still existed) are eligible to benefit from compassionate release reforms passed in the First Step Act. It includes a “fix” to the issue of how to calculate “good time credit” in order to qualify for relief passed under the First Step Act. It also ensures judicial review for home detention eligibility decisions. The bill would explicitly establish that COVID-19 vulnerability during a pandemic serves as a basis for compassionate release and it lessens the waiting period for such release decisions from 30 to 10 days.
Our bipartisan team has been working hard on securing these reforms—some since passage of the First Step Act and others since the pandemic hit our shores. Does it address every over-incarceration issue? No. Does it help everyone who needs help? No. But we endorse this legislation and express gratitude to these Senators for working together to try to ease some of the suffering that is occurring behind the walls.
Since the onset of the deadly virus in March of this year, only 500 federal inmates have been granted compassionate release from incarceration based on their age or health vulnerability to Covid-19. The vast majority of those were released by courts who did so over the objections of DOJ and BOP. The reforms in this bill, if passed, will ensure that many more people suffering will have a chance to be released. #BipartisanWorks
We Endorse the Emergency GRACE Act to Help All Federal Prisoners Access Compassionate Release
May 13, 2020–The Due Process Institute endorses the Emergency GRACE Act, one provision of which will ensure everyone incarcerated in a federal prison can apply directly to a judge for compassionate release and loosens some requirements of doing so amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Compassionate release is an important mechanism for reducing our prison populations during the COVID-19 crisis,” said Shana O’Toole, President and Founder of the Due Process Institute. “By passing the Emergency GRACE Act, Congress can ensure a court will promptly hear that motions for compassionate release from the most vulnerable individuals held in our federal prisons.”
The legislation would also extend the reforms included in the First Step Act (that we worked to pass) to federal prisoners who have been serving sentences rendered before November of 1987.
“The First Step Act focused on improving the compassionate release process, and the ability for an individual or his representative to file directly to a court is particularly important in a time like this, when the Bureau of Prisons is bogged down in requests,” said Joe Luppino-Esposito, Director of Rule of Law Initiatives at the Due Process Institute. “Being able to apply the same standards to all BOP prisoners, regardless of their sentencing date, is a full expression of the intent in the First Step Act.”
Seeking Minor Amendment to First Step Act, DPI Asks Congress to Help Vulnerable Prisoners
April 22, 2020–Due Process Institute is part of a bipartisan coalition urging Congressional leaders in the respective Judiciary Committees to open up the compassionate release provisions in the First Step Act to a larger group of people. Due to a technicality, anyone currently incarcerated who was sentenced before parole was eliminated in 1987 can only ask for relief from the Parole Commission–they cannot seek compassionate release from the Bureau of Prisons or from a court. This issue is particularly important today as many of these people are especially vulnerable to COVID-19. They are an aging population and have all served at least 30 years of their sentences already. A simple amendment to the First Step Act would allow them to apply for compassionate release to the BOP or a court–at least a fighting chance.
Supporting the S.A.F.E.R. Plan to Slow the Spread of COVID-19 in Prison
March 19, 2020–Due Process Institute has joined a bipartisan coalition of criminal justice reform organizations in supporting the REFORM Alliance’s S.A.F.E.R. Plan–a set of recommendations for governments to follow in addressing the unique dangers the pandemic presents to those incarcerated:
DPI’s New Policy Counsel Speaks on Prison Reform
February 20, 2020–Due Process Institute’s new Policy Counsel, Jeremiah Mosteller, joined a panel at the 15th Annual H.F. Guggenheim Symposium on Crime in America at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Panelists discussed innovative ideas to improve our prison system and ensure respect for human dignity.
Keep the Momentum Going: DPI Supports H.R. 4018 in the Senate
December 7, 2019–After passing the House with a unanimous voice vote, H.R. 4018, which fixes an oversight in an Elderly Home Detention Pilot Program, is now moving in the U.S. Senate. Due Process Institute continues its support for this reform, which will help to fully implement one of the many goals of the First Step Act.
DPI Supports First Step Act Fix on Elderly Release
October 18, 2019–Along with 30+ other organizations, Due Process Institute urges Congress to correct a drafting error that would improperly limit the eligibility of federal inmates for the Elderly Home Detention Pilot Program.
We Urge Texas Gov. Abbott to Rescind Problematic Criminal Justice COVID-19 Executive Order
April 22, 2020–Due Process Institute joined a coalition of organizations calling on Texas Governor Greg Abbott to rescind his recent executive order to restrict release of incarcerated persons and strip crucial speedy trial protections for those in custody. We believe this order undermines the constitutional rights of Texans and erodes the ability for local law enforcement officials and judges to utilize their expertise about what is most needed in their local communities during this difficult time.