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FAMM Responds to BOP’s Revocation of CARES Act Home Confinement Grants

Incarcerated people and their families are outraged and confused by their actions

WASHINGTON – FAMM President Kevin Ring sent a letter today to U.S. Attorney General William Barr and Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Director Michael Carvajal in response to the BOP’s decision to rescind home confinement dates for hundreds of people yesterday. People who were explicitly told they were going home, and had also spent days in quarantine, were told yesterday that their home confinement placements were being revoked due to a change in the eligibility criteria.

“The BOP is playing with people’s lives,” said Ring. “It’s nothing short of cruel to tell hundreds of people they are going home, notifying their families and quarantining them for days, only to change your mind afterward. Incarcerated people and their families are understandably confused and frightened about whether the BOP is doing all it can to protect them from COVID-19.”

Under the CARES Act, Attorney General Barr was given the authority to grant extended home confinement to the people most at-risk of death or serious harm due to COVID-19. Barr issued two memos to clarify who would qualify for home confinement, but BOP the process is still confusing as the haphazard implementation process has shown. In Ring’s letter, he asks the Attorney General and BOP director to answer several questions about home confinement and other issues that have been raised by families.

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 in six states 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.