From The Marshall Project:
The Bureau of Prisons faces a host of major challenges. Federal prisons are chronically short-staffed, creating dangerous conditions for both the people working there and for those who are incarcerated. The aging buildings are in need of major repairs and maintenance. The bureau estimates its already overcrowded prison population will expand to 10% over capacity in 2024.
Despite the grim conditions, two programs — which allow people to live in their communities while serving their sentences if they are not likely to commit new crimes — have ended, or are at risk of ending. Former BOP staffers and advocates for prisoners’ rights say that could increase the prison population at a time when resources are already strained.
The Elderly Offender Program allowed people 60 and older who had served most of their sentences, and were incarcerated for an offense categorized as non-violent or non-sexual, to be released to home confinement. It was a pilot program expanded by the First Step Act, which took effect in 2018. The program expired in September. Continue reading >>>
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