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February 9, 2009
"Elderly Offender Home Detention Pilot Program"
The title of this post is the title of a one-page flyer (which is partially reprinted and linked below) that I received from a helpful reader. The flyer provides a few details concerning a new federal prisoner release program that comes out of last year's passage of the Second Chance Act. Here is part of the text of the flyer:
Beginning February 5, 2009, the Bureau of Prisons is implementing a two-year pilot program called the Elderly Offender Home Detention Pilot Program ("the Program"). The Program is required as part of the Second Chance Act of 2007, Section 231(g), and will involve re-designating certain elderly inmates to home detention for the final portion of their prison sentences....
The Program has many eligibility criteria [including as requirements that you] are 65 years old or older... [and] have served 10 years or more on your current sentence ... [and] have served 75% or more of your current sentence ... [and] have a suitable home in which to reside.
Download Elderly_inmate_notice
February 9, 2009 at 06:05 PM | Permalink
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Comments
We could soon see something like this in California:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CALIFORNIA_PRISONS?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US
Posted by: federalist | Feb 9, 2009 8:22:31 PM
This program could save millions of taxpayer dollars without jeopardizing community safety. Nice to see a more rational approach to incarceration.
Posted by: beth | Feb 9, 2009 8:58:29 PM
The operations memorandum dated 2/05/09 can be linked from
http://www.november.org
Posted by: beth | Feb 9, 2009 10:40:26 PM
The good news is that the Pilot Program is being implemented at all federal correctional institutions, and not just at a few as some had initially feared. But because of the many restrictions on eligibility, it appears that fewer than 100 older federal inmates nationwide will benefit, at least initially. For instance, since an eligible inmate must have *served* "the greater of" ten years' imprisonment or 75% of the sentence, and given the rate of Good Conduct Time and the extent of existing pre-release programming, no one with a sentence of less than about 12 years will benefit from this at all, and no one will benefit significantly who is not well into a sentence of around 14 years at least. And all violent and sex offenses are excluded. So all in all, that's a handful of aging nonviolent drug offenders and high-loss fraudsters. Hopefully the "pilot" will go well and be expanded.
Posted by: Peter G | Feb 9, 2009 11:46:01 PM
No BOP link?
Posted by: -- | Feb 10, 2009 9:53:16 AM
It seems to me they need to assess just who is eligable and who is not...as the child of an inmate I would like to see this work so that I could bring my dad home and have him spend his "golden years" with myself and his grandchildren rather than in a federal facility where we can rarely visit because we live too far away..the restrictions leave him out at this time because of his age but if it were expanded I feel it might benefit more families..I just recently found out about this program...but my father was under the impression that not all states were supporting it. Maybe you could direct me as to where to read more about this program so that I may be more knowledgeable on the restrictions and or changes to the progam as it progresses.
Posted by: Karen LaRiccia | Mar 17, 2009 10:04:47 AM
Maybe you can give me some advice on what do or point me in the right direction. My father whom I never seen before is in a federal prision in Philidelpha and is serving a life sentence and has serve 16 years going on 17 years. From reading he has is eligible and meets the criteria [including as requirements that you mention above, are 65 years old or older... [and] have served 10 years or more on your current sentence ... [and] have served 75% or more of your current sentence ... [and] has a suitable home in which to reside. Who do I need to speak with or what paper work do I need to fill out and where. Also do I need to seek legal aid. Thank you very much!!!!
Posted by: Antonio Carter Doctorians in Pastorial Theology | May 23, 2009 10:52:46 AM
I would like to know if the good time conduct is being factored into the time served in regard to the pilot program.
My husband is serving a 188 month sentence non violent non drug offender, he has been in prison since 2000, we have two sons Robert 11, Ryan 9, Ryan was 4 weeks old when his dad went to prison. My husband will be 68 years old this december.
Thank you
Lisa Petrie
Posted by: Lisa Petrie | Aug 27, 2009 2:19:57 PM
I am the wife of a federal prisoner who has supposedly been approved to participate in this program but still has not been released. Do you know if anyone has been released under this program?
Posted by: Nancy Ford | Sep 16, 2009 12:53:30 PM
