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Dear John,
Today, The Sentencing Project released a new brief: “ The First Step Act: Ending Mass Incarceration in Federal Prisons. [[link removed]] [[link removed]] ” The brief highlights the success of the First Step Act, bipartisan legislation signed into law in 2018, which promotes rehabilitation and reduces some excessive sentences in the federal prison system. The First Step Act has been a critical means of reducing excess incarceration while prioritizing community safety.
The report outlines the positive impacts of the First Step Act, including:
*
Lower
Recidivism:
The
recidivism
rate
among
people
who
have
benefitted
from
the
First
Step
Act
is
considerably
lower
than
those
who
were
released
from
prison
without
the
benefit
of
the
law.
Though
not
an
exact
comparison
between
the
two
groups,
among
those
whose
release
has
been
expedited
by
the
First
Step
Act,
nearly
nine
in
every
10
have
not
been
rearrested
or
reincarcerated,
whereas
the
typical
recidivism
rate
is
43%
among
people
released
from
federal
prison.


*
Creating
Earned
Time
Credits:
The
First
Step
Act
created
earned
time
credits,
which
allow
eligible
people
in
federal
prisons
to
earn
credits
for
participation
in
rehabilitative
programs
and
activities.


*
Expanding
Good
Time
Credits:
Individuals
in
federal
prisons
earn
good
time
credits
for
good
behavior.
The
First
Step
Act
expanded
good
time
credits,
allowing
incarcerated
individuals
to
earn
up
to
54
days
of
good
time
credit
for
every
year
of
their
sentence.


*
Amending
Compassionate
Release:
The
First
Step
Act
allows
individuals
who
present
extraordinary
and
compelling
circumstances,
such
as
severe
illness
and/or
old
age,
and
who
pose
little
risk
to
the
community,
to
bring
their
compassionate
release
applications
directly
to
a
federal
judge.
Compassionate
release
was
available
before
2018,
but
infrequently
used
because
of
its
poor
design
and
implementation
challenges.
Despite its success, the First Step Act has suffered from numerous challenges in implementation which have limited its impact and effectiveness. The Sentencing Project urges the Bureau of Prisons to fully implement the First Step Act to increase its beneficial impact and for Congress to build on it’s success by passing the bipartisan First Step Implementation Act, the Safer Detention Act, and the EQUAL Act.
Read the Report [[link removed]]
Liz Komar, The Sentencing Project's Sentencing Reform Counsel [[link removed]] Ashley Nellis
Co-Director of Research
Email: [email protected] [[email protected]]
Donate [[link removed]]
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