danielle
01-28-2003, 07:44 PM
Change in policy affects inmates
By BRETT BARROUQUERE
bbarrouquere@theadvocate.com
Advocate staff writer
Darla O'Connor is a bit apprehensive about the possibility of one of her residents leaving the house.
That's because the person may not leave by choice.
O'Connor, director of Ecumenical House, a Baton Rouge halfway house, said one of the residents there faces being sent to federal prison under new federal regulations on who qualifies to serve time in a halfway house.
The woman, whom O'Connor would not identify, will be shipped to a federal prison in Bryan, Texas, on Wednesday unless a federal judge alters the terms of her prison sentence.
"I hate to see it happen," O'Connor said.
While the woman is the only person in Baton Rouge to be moved, she's one of about 125 nationally affected by the policy change implemented in mid-December.
Along with people being moved, O'Connor and several defense attorneys say they are worried about how the new regulations will impact an unknown number of people in the future.
Under a new policy required by the U.S. Department of Justice, anyone sentenced to incarceration must go to prison. The policy, in part, stemmed from a West Virginia case in which a dentist was assigned to a halfway house after being convicted of tax fraud.
Inmates in a halfway house who, as of Dec. 16, had more than 150 days remaining to serve on their prison terms were to be reassigned to a federal prison.
The woman in Ecumenical House is serving a 10-month sentence and is scheduled to be released June 25 -- about 45 days beyond the deadline, O'Connor said.
Under the old policy, a judge could recommend that someone sentenced to a short prison term be allowed to serve the time in a halfway house, such as Ecumenical House.
Inmates at a halfway house often hold jobs outside the house, but are required to do chores and are confined there to sleep and eat.
"It's punishment, but it's not as costly as prison," said Federal Public Defender Rebecca Hudsmith.
Now, someone sentenced to a short prison term can no longer go from the courthouse to the halfway house, said Dan Dunne, a spokesman for the federal Bureau of Prisons.
"Prison sentences must be satisfied by prison time, not halfway houses," Dunne said. "The opinion concluded that our practice of accommodating judicial recommendations ... was not appropriate."
The changes came about after the Justice Department reevaluated the practice of putting first-time, non-violent offenders in halfway houses.
The reevaluation found that the practice violated a federal law requiring confinement for certain convictions because a halfway house is not truly confinement.
Deputy Assistant Attorney General Edward Whelan III, in a Dec. 13 memo issued to attorneys, said there's no legal basis for the Bureau of Prisons' practice of assigning people to halfway houses when they have more than 150 days left to serve.
"We therefore conclude that the BOP practice is not lawful," Whelan wrote.
O'Connor said the full impact of the change won't be known for some time, once more people who need the rehabilitation services offered by a halfway house are sentenced.
"We're going to have a tougher time with less time to work with them," O'Connor said. "I'm worried about what is going to happen to the inmates."
Hudsmith is more concerned about what becomes of Lance Banks.
Banks, a Mississippi resident, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the federal government in a health-care fraud scheme and in July received 12 months in prison.
U.S. District Judge John Parker recommended Banks serve his time in a halfway house, and he was assigned to City of Faith Halfway House in Monroe.
Banks received notice Dec. 27 that, barring a change in his sentence, he would be reassigned to the federal prison in Yazoo City, Miss., on Wednesday.
Hudsmith is now asking Parker to stop that reassignment because it violates Banks' right to due process.
As of Friday afternoon, Parker had not ruled on Banks' request while he awaited a response from prosecutors.
Cases such as Banks' could prompt some defense attorneys to take a closer look at plea agreements before they are signed, said Baton Rouge defense attorney Jim Boren.
In some cases, a person may roll the dice at trial with a chance of going free if pleading guilty means prison anyway, Boren said.
"Most defendants calculate their early release as part of what they consider important," Boren said.
David Dugas, U.S. Attorney for the Baton Rouge-based Middle District of Louisiana, said he doesn't believe the policy will have that large of an impact on plea negotiations.
"You generally don't get less of a sentence by going to trial and being convicted," Dugas said.
But, it may hurt the ability of some to repay victims for their crimes, O'Connor said.
The woman at Ecumenical House is paying restitution and working outside the halfway house, making her removal somewhat puzzling, O'Connor said.
"It's really silly to take someone out of the work force, put them in prison and pay them 12 cents an hour," O'Connor said. "I just don't really understand it."
By BRETT BARROUQUERE
bbarrouquere@theadvocate.com
Advocate staff writer
Darla O'Connor is a bit apprehensive about the possibility of one of her residents leaving the house.
That's because the person may not leave by choice.
O'Connor, director of Ecumenical House, a Baton Rouge halfway house, said one of the residents there faces being sent to federal prison under new federal regulations on who qualifies to serve time in a halfway house.
The woman, whom O'Connor would not identify, will be shipped to a federal prison in Bryan, Texas, on Wednesday unless a federal judge alters the terms of her prison sentence.
"I hate to see it happen," O'Connor said.
While the woman is the only person in Baton Rouge to be moved, she's one of about 125 nationally affected by the policy change implemented in mid-December.
Along with people being moved, O'Connor and several defense attorneys say they are worried about how the new regulations will impact an unknown number of people in the future.
Under a new policy required by the U.S. Department of Justice, anyone sentenced to incarceration must go to prison. The policy, in part, stemmed from a West Virginia case in which a dentist was assigned to a halfway house after being convicted of tax fraud.
Inmates in a halfway house who, as of Dec. 16, had more than 150 days remaining to serve on their prison terms were to be reassigned to a federal prison.
The woman in Ecumenical House is serving a 10-month sentence and is scheduled to be released June 25 -- about 45 days beyond the deadline, O'Connor said.
Under the old policy, a judge could recommend that someone sentenced to a short prison term be allowed to serve the time in a halfway house, such as Ecumenical House.
Inmates at a halfway house often hold jobs outside the house, but are required to do chores and are confined there to sleep and eat.
"It's punishment, but it's not as costly as prison," said Federal Public Defender Rebecca Hudsmith.
Now, someone sentenced to a short prison term can no longer go from the courthouse to the halfway house, said Dan Dunne, a spokesman for the federal Bureau of Prisons.
"Prison sentences must be satisfied by prison time, not halfway houses," Dunne said. "The opinion concluded that our practice of accommodating judicial recommendations ... was not appropriate."
The changes came about after the Justice Department reevaluated the practice of putting first-time, non-violent offenders in halfway houses.
The reevaluation found that the practice violated a federal law requiring confinement for certain convictions because a halfway house is not truly confinement.
Deputy Assistant Attorney General Edward Whelan III, in a Dec. 13 memo issued to attorneys, said there's no legal basis for the Bureau of Prisons' practice of assigning people to halfway houses when they have more than 150 days left to serve.
"We therefore conclude that the BOP practice is not lawful," Whelan wrote.
O'Connor said the full impact of the change won't be known for some time, once more people who need the rehabilitation services offered by a halfway house are sentenced.
"We're going to have a tougher time with less time to work with them," O'Connor said. "I'm worried about what is going to happen to the inmates."
Hudsmith is more concerned about what becomes of Lance Banks.
Banks, a Mississippi resident, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the federal government in a health-care fraud scheme and in July received 12 months in prison.
U.S. District Judge John Parker recommended Banks serve his time in a halfway house, and he was assigned to City of Faith Halfway House in Monroe.
Banks received notice Dec. 27 that, barring a change in his sentence, he would be reassigned to the federal prison in Yazoo City, Miss., on Wednesday.
Hudsmith is now asking Parker to stop that reassignment because it violates Banks' right to due process.
As of Friday afternoon, Parker had not ruled on Banks' request while he awaited a response from prosecutors.
Cases such as Banks' could prompt some defense attorneys to take a closer look at plea agreements before they are signed, said Baton Rouge defense attorney Jim Boren.
In some cases, a person may roll the dice at trial with a chance of going free if pleading guilty means prison anyway, Boren said.
"Most defendants calculate their early release as part of what they consider important," Boren said.
David Dugas, U.S. Attorney for the Baton Rouge-based Middle District of Louisiana, said he doesn't believe the policy will have that large of an impact on plea negotiations.
"You generally don't get less of a sentence by going to trial and being convicted," Dugas said.
But, it may hurt the ability of some to repay victims for their crimes, O'Connor said.
The woman at Ecumenical House is paying restitution and working outside the halfway house, making her removal somewhat puzzling, O'Connor said.
"It's really silly to take someone out of the work force, put them in prison and pay them 12 cents an hour," O'Connor said. "I just don't really understand it."