We post news and comment on federal criminal justice issues, focused primarily on trial and post-conviction matters, legislative initiatives, and sentencing issues.
RETALIATION? NOT US…
The Marshall Project and NPR published the second report in their investigation of the Federal Bureau of Prisons grievance procedures last week, this one focused on alleged BOP retaliation against prisoners filing grievances complaining of BOP staff violence and sexual abuse.
A previous report found that only 1.75% of grievances filed in 2023 were granted. A majority were rejected for procedural errors or “administratively closed” for other reasons. The findings were based on a massive federal database, published by the Data Liberation Project, containing nearly 1 million federal prison grievance cases dating back to 2000.
Last week’s report observed that the dataset “only includes instances where incarcerated people were able to file a complaint at all. An unknown number of cases, especially those involving physical and sexual violence, go unreported, as the same officers accused of abuse can silence those trying to seek help, according to court records, lawsuits, and interviews with attorneys, incarcerated people, advocates and former bureau officials.”
A report by the Government Accountability Office last May found that fear of retaliation was a major impediment to reporting sexual abuse in federal prisons. Can’t be, BOP spokeswoman Randilee Giamusso said in response: Bureau policy prohibits retaliation of any kind, and the BOP reviews and investigates all allegations of abuse. She told NPR that the administrative remedy system – despite its under 2 pct approval rate – is “a safeguard intended to foster resolution within the system, not a barrier to court access.” She noted that “remedies related to sexual abuse can be submitted in other ways, such as “third-party reporting and [Prison Rape Elimination Act]-specific channels,” NPR reported.
The report also quoted current and former BOP prisoners with a different view. “The grievance system is a joke,” said ex-inmate Jimmy Hodge. “If you’re grieving over abuse, they’re going to harass you, they’re going to assault you, but you’re never going to get relief.”
It’s the same dilemma presented to anyone who faces violence in federal prison, the Report found: Try to file an administrative grievance and risk opening yourself up to retaliation — or stay quiet, endure the abuse, and forgo your chance to someday bring your case to court.
The fact that inmates must exhaust the grievance process before they can attempt to sue, NPR reported, gives prison staff a “chokehold over access to the courts,” according to former federal defender Colin Prince, now a civil rights attorney. “The guards functionally have power over whether a prisoner can sue them for their own misconduct,” he said. “The entire system is layer upon layer of bureaucratic insulation against accountability. It simply prevents prisoners from getting access to the courts.”
NPR, A guard punched him on camera. It was still nearly impossible for him to sue (July 13, 2026)
Data Liberation Project, Federal Inmate Complaints (July 6, 2024)
GAO, Improvements Needed to Prevent, Detect, and Address Sexual Abuse (Report No 26-107343, May 5, 2026)
~ Thomas L. Root