FIRST STEP Act to Be Near Top of Legislative "To
Do" List After Elections
by Derek Gilna
As America
As we have
previously noted, the current attorney general (who opposes the bill) should be
gone by the first of the year, and most Republican Senators, perhaps as many as
32, support the bill in its current form.
NO Democratic Senators are on record as opposing it, meaning it could have well
over 75 "yes" votes. Surveys show over two-thirds of Americans
support sentence relief.
Although we
have received many questions as to who would be affected by the legislation, we
caution that the final language of the bill has yet to be determined, but
broadly speaking, all but the most violent would immediately benefit. The bill
exempts several categories of prisoners from earning more credits, including
convicted murderers, terrorists and spies, as well as the undocumented..
The bill
would allocate $250 million over five years for the DOJ to develop risk
assessment tools to figure out what inmates need, and to create programs
tailored to those needs. The new system would run on incentives, offering
inmates extra credits against their release dates if they participate in the
programs and have good conduct. The bill would also increase the maximum amount
of credits an inmate could earn per year behind bars, from 47 days to 54 days,
and applies that change RETROACTIVELY, meaning some prisoners would be eligible
for early release immediately.
As we have
reported here, the federal HW system, not to mention the broader prison system,
is severely mismanaged and underperforming considering the amount of funding it
receives. Look for many private and
religious entities to take over the DOJ's job in providing quality education
and meaningful job training and reentry programs.
In the
circuits, we apologize for not giving
the cite on the 9th Circuit stash-house case, which was US v. Sellers,
16-50061, (9th Cir. 10-15-18 ).
Also in the 9th Circuit, the Berkeley , California
Finally, we
continue to look forward to discussing with you any potential relief that might
be obtained under Johnson and Dimaya, or to assert inadequate representation of
counsel in a 2255 petition for those whose direct appeal was recently denied.
There is no charge for this review.
Federal Legal Center, Inc.
Derek A. Gilna, JD, Director
