Press Release

Media Contact:
Tripp Laino, 202-999-4273
tlaino@famm.org

FAMM issues statement following OLC memo stating people on CARES Act home confinement won’t have to return to prison en masse

WASHINGTON – FAMM President Kevin Ring issued the following statement following a new memo from the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel that will no longer require people serving on CARES Act home confinement to return to prison en masse at the end of the pandemic.

“This is excellent news for thousands of people and their families to get before the holidays,” Ring said. “There is no way the people on CARES Act home confinement should have been sent back to prison, and we are very grateful to the Biden administration for fixing this mistake.

“We hope clemency remains on the table for those who no longer warrant home confinement. But for now, today’s decision will ease a lot of concerns and fears.”

FAMM has been urging both the Biden and Trump administrations not to send people on CARES ACT home confinement back to prison when the pandemic ends. Recently, Ring sent a letter urging U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to clear up confusion around the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) memo on CARES Act home confinement.

It was previously reported that the Biden Justice Department had decided to uphold the Trump administration’s OLC memo to send people on CARES Act home confinement back to prison. During a hearing before the U.S. Senate Judiciary hearing in October, however, Garland said the OLC memo was still under review. Days later, a federal prosecutor said the attorney general was “revising” the memo, citing a news story about Garland’s testimony.

More than 30 employers of CARES Act beneficiaries also joined the call to keep their employees home. Additionally, Ring sent a letter signed by more than 25 criminal justice organizations to President Biden, urging him to keep all people currently serving home confinement home.

For nearly three decades, FAMM has united the voices of affected families, the formerly incarcerated, and a range of stakeholders and advocates to fight for a more fair and effective justice system. FAMM’s focus on ending a one-size-fits-all punishment structure has led to reforms to sentencing and prison policies at the state and federal level and is paving the way to programs that support rehabilitation for the 94% of all prisoners who will return to our neighborhoods one day.

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FAMM is a national nonpartisan advocacy organization that promotes fair and effective criminal justice policies that safeguard taxpayer dollars and keep our communities safe. Founded in 1991, FAMM is helping transform America’s criminal justice system by uniting the voices of impacted families and individuals and elevating the issues all across the country.