Press Release
FAMM urges Attorney General Garland to clear up confusion around OLC Memo on CARES Act Home Confinement
Contact:
Rabiah Burks, 202-822-6700
rburks@famm.org
FAMM urges Attorney General Garland to clear up confusion around OLC Memo on CARES Act Home Confinement
WASHINGTON – FAMM President Kevin 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.
“After months of inaction, the administration is sending mixed signals about its position on the OLC memo. Enough is enough,” said FAMM President Kevin Ring. “Whether the Attorney General has decided to revise the memo or not, he should let these families know if the administration is going to force their loved ones back to prison or leave them home where they belong.”
It was previously reported that the Biden Justice Department had decided to uphold the OLC memo. During a hearing before the U.S. Senate Judiciary hearing last month, 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. Thousands of people currently on CARES Act home confinement are deeply confused and are waiting for a decision on whether or not they will be sent back to prison.
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. More than 30 employers of CARES Act beneficiaries also joined the call to keep their employees home.
Additionally, Ring recently 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.