FCI Dublin Closes, USSC Restricts Use of Acquitted Conduct & More

"[T]his bill would give us, for the first time, really comprehensive, and well fleshed out, independent oversight of our federal prison system."

Last week, the House Oversight and Accountability Committee passed the Federal Prison Oversight Act with a 41-1 vote. The legislation, introduced last year, hopes to shine a light on the shadowy agency that has faced numerous reports of abuse, neglect, and unconstitutional conditions inside several federal facilities across the country by establishing an Ombudsman within the DOJ who would be tasked handling complaints from incarcerated individuals, corrections staff and others, as well as provide for risk-based assessments of federal prison facilities. The Justice Action Network published a press release following the vote last week, which can be read here.

"Closing the facility at Dublin does not do anything to change the underlying culture that contributed to rampant sexual abuse in prison."

Speaking of abuse and unconstitutional conditions inside a federal prison facility, this week the Bureau of Prisons abruptly announced that they would be closing the troubled Federal Correctional Institute in Dublin, California, a women’s facility that has gained the moniker “rape club” among workers and incarcerated women alike, and which has seen the conviction of a former warden and chaplain on sexual abuse charges. Instead of the closure announcement bringing relief to the female population there, the abrupt closure has sparked fear and confusion for many women worried about being moved far away from their families, the Los Angeles Times reports this week.

"I do think what we are seeing is more and more of a recognition that this particular population—those who are incarcerated and their families—are being preyed on."

This week, The Appeal published the results of a nine-month investigation into commissary pricing in state correctional facilities across the country, and found predatory pricing on a wide variety of products with items priced at up to five times higher inside facilities than they are priced in communities, and markups as high as 600 percent. The outlet claims this is the first-of-its-kind database of prison commissary lists from 46 states.

"By enshrining this basic fact within the federal sentencing guidelines, the Commission is taking an important step to protect the credibility of our courts and criminal justice system."

In a landmark decision this week, the U.S. Sentencing Commission unanimously voted to restrict judges from imposing longer sentences based on conduct for which defendants were acquitted at trial, a practice long criticized as unjust. Effective November 1st, this amendment to federal sentencing guidelines marks a pivotal shift in the country's sentencing policy, affirming the principle that "not guilty means not guilty" and aiming to bolster the credibility of the criminal justice system. You can read the Justice Action Network’s statement on the change here.

"Just months ago, I was still behind prison bars, and not knowing exactly how the future of going to law school would turn out. So to be home and know I’m going to law school … is an amazing feeling."

This week, the Guardian reports on the story of Bernard McKinley, a formerly incarcerated person who is first from Northwestern University’s Prison Education Program (NPEP) to be accepted into any law school, including Northwestern’s, which boasts a 4% acceptance rate. He first obtained his GED and paralegal diploma behind bars, then his bachelor’s degree. Now poised to become a civil rights lawyer, McKinley's story underscores the profound impact of education behind prison walls and the opportunity it provides for a true second chance.