Department of Justice

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FAMM releases statement on Department of Justice expanding home confinement criteria

WASHINGTON – FAMM President Kevin Ring released the following statement in response to the Department of Justice (DOJ) releasing a memo expanding the criteria for home confinement.

“We’re grateful that that the new administration heeded the widespread calls to make more people eligible for home confinement,” Ring said. “The original criteria were too narrow. These changes will protect vulnerable people in federal prisons.

“We are extremely disappointed, however, that the administration has not rescinded or overruled the legal memo that could force people on home confinement back to prison when the pandemic subsides. Thousands of families are rightfully anxious that they will be separated again soon. We worry that today’s announcement will result in more families being in the same boat.”

The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel issued a memo on January 15, just four days before the end of the Trump administration, stating that the CARES Act requires the BOP to return those serving extended home confinement terms to prison following the end of the emergency period if they do not otherwise qualify for home confinement.

People sent home under the CARES Act were not told that they might have to return to prison.

A bipartisan group of more than 25 members of the U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter to President Biden, urging the administration to rescind a legal memo on home confinement issued in the waning days of the Trump administration.

In addition, FAMM joined more than 25 organizations signing on to a letter urging President Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland to rescind a legal memo issued in the waning days of the Trump administration that would return thousands of people on home confinement to federal prison.

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.