AG Barr Directs BOP to Consider More Inmates for Home Confinement As Cases Increase

The Federal Docket

March 27, 2020

March 26, 2020.

This week, Attorney General William Barr issued a memo to the Bureau of Prisons urging officials to identify certain inmates for home confinement in an effort to reduce the inmate population. The move to expand home confinement comes after reports that inmates in at least two BOP facilities have contracted the coronavirus. To date, 6 inmates and 4 staffers have tested positive, with one in critical condition.

Even after an inmate is identified as suitable for release into house arrest, however, he or she must be held in quarantine for 14 days to ensure they are not infectious. Additionally, inmates convicted of sex offenses are apparently ineligible for release, and the memo counsels against releasing individuals serving time for “serious offenses.” Barr’s memo also asserts that some inmates may safer in custody, a statement directly at odds with the opinions of numerous medical and public health experts.

Click here to read the article at ABC News.

Tom Church - Tom is a trial and appellate lawyer focusing on criminal defense and civil trials. Tom is the author of "The Federal Docket" and is a contributor to Mercer Law Review's Annual Survey in the areas of federal sentencing guidelines and criminal law. Tom graduated with honors from the University of Georgia Law School where he served as a research assistant to the faculty in the areas of constitutional law and civil rights litigation. Read Tom's reviews on AVVO. Follow Tom on Linkedin.

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