We post news and comment on federal criminal justice issues, focused primarily on trial and post-conviction matters, legislative initiatives, and sentencing issues.

BUREAU OF PRISONS REVERSES COURSE ON HALFWAY HOUSE

Last Thursday, the Bureau of Prisons hastily walked back its March 31st memo limiting Second Chance Act halfway house placement—which under 18 USC 3624 can be up to 12 months—to only 60 days (with RDAP placement limited to 125 days).

The BOP tersely announced in a press release that “[b]ased on concerns about how these limitations impact the population, BOP will not proceed with the planned changes to limit SCA placement to 60 days. A new memo was issued today, April 10, 2025, rescinding the previous guidance.”

The memo is not yet publicly available.

In its March 31st memorandum, the BOP cited budget constraints for the limitation and stated that prisoners “releasing to the community under Second Chance Act (SCA) authority after April 21, 2025, will have their dates adjusted and reduced to a maximum of 60 days.”

Writing in Forbes, Walter Pavlo said that the reversal resulted from an “uproar” from inmates, their families, advocates, and civil rights attorneys. The reversal coincides with a BOP warning of a renewed scam where people impersonating BOP employees were shaking down families for money to secure quicker halfway house placement for loved ones.

Pavlo says that “the BOP is going to be honoring the earlier dates given to prisoners to start their halfway house placement.” This may be, but the financial pressures on the agency that resulted in the March 31st restriction remain unchanged. Without the text of the new memo available, whether the good old days are back remains unclear.

BOP, Second Chance Act (SCA) Placements – Previous Guidance Rescinded (April 10, 2025)

Forbes, Bureau of Prisons Rescinds Controversial Limits On Halfway House (April 10, 2025)

– Thomas L. Root