We post news and comment on federal criminal justice issues, focused primarily on trial and post-conviction matters, legislative initiatives, and sentencing issues.
BILL INTRODUCED REQUIRING BOP TO TELL YOUR FAMILY PROMPTLY THAT YOU’RE DEAD
Senators Jon Ossoff (D–GA) and John Kennedy (R–LA) have reintroduced legislation that would require the Dept of Justice to issue guidance to the Federal Bureau of Prisons for promptly notifying families when federal prisoners become seriously ill, suffer life-threatening injuries, or die, as a “basic human dignity of incarcerated people, a concept rooted in the Eighth Amendment and Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment…”
“Too often, the families of those incarcerated never find out about a serious illness, a life-threatening injury, or even the death of a loved one behind bars,” Ossoff said in a press release.
The Senate bill is S.1322. A companion House bill (H.R. 2718) has been introduced by Representatives Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D–CA), John Rutherford (R–FL), Barry Moore (R–AL), and Glenn Ivey (D–MD).
Ossoff and others introduced the same bill in the last Congress without success. The latest pieces of legislation, unlike earlier effort, have bipartisan sponsorship.
The BOP stated that its policy is to notify next-of-kin when a prisoner dies. However, Reason has reported that families have “described delays in being notified that their incarcerated loved one had been hospitalized, or even died; having their phone calls ignored; not being allowed to see their loved one in their final moments; delays in being sent the body and death certificate; being given inaccurate or incomplete information about the manner of death; or waiting months and years for the Bureau to fulfill their public records requests for more information about how their loved one died.”
Anecdote supports Reason’s report. Just ask the Sisk family or the Bardells. Whether either chamber of Congress cares enough to pass such common-sense and merciful measures in the 2025-2026 session remains to be seen.
H.R. 2718, Family Notification of Death, Injury, or Illness in Custody Act of 2025
S. 1322, Family Notification of Death, Injury, or Illness in Custody Act of 2025
Reason, Bill Would Require Federal Prisons To Notify Families of Serious Illness and Death (April 10, 2025)
– Thomas L. Root