President signs Executive Order to phase out private prisons
The new administration has been clear that they oppose the use of private prisons. We do to. Any industry that profits on the incarceration and lobbies for longer prison sentences and harsher penalties as a basis for increasing profitability, is sick.
Within one week of taking office, President Biden has signed an Executive Order to “Reform the Incarceration System”, which includes phasing out the use of private prisons to confine the currently 2 million people who are confined in federal prisons and detention centers.
Perhaps the most exciting language contained in the Executive Order was not the elimination of private prisons, but these statements,
- “There is broad consensus that our current system of mass incarceration imposes significant costs and hardships on our society and communities and does not make us safer.”
- “We must ensure that our Nation’s incarceration and correctional systems are prioritizing rehabilitation and redemption.”
- “Incarcerated individuals should be given a fair chance to fully reintegrate into their communities, including by participating in programming tailored to earning a good living, securing affordable housing, and participating in our democracy as our fellow citizens.”
Lets hope this is just the beginning.
This is wonderful news. I only worry that Florida won’t comply. The three statements listed are 100% correct here in Florida. The Florida DOC as a whole doesn’t believe in corrections. My first PO told me he believes sex offenders cannot be rehabilitated and should be locked up for life. So if this plan is actually implemented here in Florida, the quality of life for registered citizens, and especially those on probation/parole could significantly go up.
This only impacts the FEDERAL DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. Not State prison systems.
Unless the Florida Governor orders the same, there is nothing to comply with.
That is really disappointing. I see no way Florida will give that up.
Thanks for the clarification.
It’s true that FL DOC won’t close private facilities until their operators lose influence in Tallahassee.
The good news is that those operators’ most effective advocate has a hearing in a couple weeks regarding his drunk driving case. For the sake of Floridians everywhere, I hope this and subsequent hearings go poorly for him.
It’s about time.
Call me a skeptic, but I believe this will have zero effect on SOs. I spent nearly 6 years in the FBOP for CP. None of the SOs are ever sent to private prisons because there is no programming or sex offender treatment programs in private prisons for federal inmates. The private prisons in the federal system are mostly reserved for illegal immigrants, low level drug dealers, and inmates out on writs.
Bob, you are correct. There are no sex offender programs in the private prisons the feds use. The article below is a great expose’ of the so called Sex Offender Management Program that the feds have instituted. Given that SOs are not sent to private prisons in the federal system and that Biden’s EO only affects federal prisons, this is of absolutely no help to our cause.
I agree with Bob. I want to be hopeful that this nearly meaningless gesture somehow will affect those on probation, SOR, and/or still in prison, but it’s a very pathetic attempt at reform. It “sounds” like there’ll be less locked up. Because we know that only private entities, and not our “dear government” try to make a profit . All the illegals and “low level drug offenders” will just get crammed into local jails and other government run prisons.
Finally, a policy out of the Biden White House that I can agree with.
I spent more than 5 years in the federal bureau of prisons. And I can assure you that this EO is about relief for illegal aliens held in federal prisons. It is not about relief for sex offenders because the feds dont hold us in private prisons. So, don’t be fooled.
I don’t see how you read that from the Executive Order.
I don’t see how “rehabilitation and redemption” are immigration issues. Certainly “incarcerated individuals should be given a fair chance to fully reintegrate into their communities” isn’t about illegal aliens.
Ok FAC, let’s watch this unfold. By this time next year, show us all how this has helped our SOs. By the end of Biden’s term, let’s see how this helps our cause. I spent time in federal prison. I know how the federal prison system functions. Did you spend any time there?
Yup. I did!
Here is the link about federal SOMP that shows all federal sex offender prisons, none of which are private.
https://www.prisonerresource.com/sex-offenders/sex-offender-treatment-programs-federal-bureau-prisons/
Since you claim to have spent time in federal prison, then you should know how full they are of illegal aliens. This is one of the reasons the FBOP contracted to private prisons to help reduce the overcrowding of other inmates and make room for more SOs. So, Biden’s EO is addressing the illegal alien issue, contrary to your post.
Biden’s Order Aiming to End Use of Private Prisons Excludes Immigrant Detention Facilities:
https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2021-01-26/bidens-order-aiming-to-end-use-of-private-prisons-excludes-immigrant-detention-facilities?context=amp
Sex offenders both immigrant and native-born are held in all BOP private prisons, including the following:
https://www.bop.gov/about/facilities/contract_facilities.jsp
Biden is off to a decent start.
When you get a reply from FAC, Everyone seems to think the founder themselves are answering you. (Sometimes she does) You might be talking to a volunteer who, like many of us, are on the registry.
I read this order a few times in full. It specifically addresses the need to reduce “people of color” from the federal prisons. Seems to me that includes illegal aliens coming from Mexico and South America in caravans who are held in federal prisons and detention centers alike as we have seen repeatedly on the news since 2016. Just sayin.
OH yes they do. My family member was in a private prisonfor 3 yrs in Fl and he is a RSO. Theres not enough time or space to tell you the horrors of confinement, extorion, etc. We also have a family friend who conincidentally was in a federal prison for 5 yrs as a RSO. He worked, made money and if he minded his own business was safe.
Sarah there are some private prisons in Florida but not sure they are Federal. I may be wrong but if he was in the DOC, it was not federal even if private. But like I said, I have been wrong before in my life, maybe once or twice LOL :)~
“We must ensure that our Nation’s incarceration and correctional systems are prioritizing rehabilitation and redemption.”
There is NO redemption as long as the registry exists. This is an extension of our sentences to Life for most of us regardless of what the courts say. Walk a mile or even a day in our shoes and then see what you think.
Have to be totally honest here i thought this guy was going to be a total train wreck and he still may be but this order was definitely a step in the right direction for us. there should be 0 for profit prisons in the United states.
Sex offenders are held in ALL BOP facilities, public and private. They do not have to have a Sex Offender Management Program.
I can not find the article with the percentage, but few prisons are run privately in total. This doesn’t touch Immigration detention centers, which are big on private prisons. Also government “run” prisons out source a lot of services. Government run prisons still provide cheap labor. Current contracts are honored and some run past his term, so they can be reversed. And by their own admission these private prison companies note they are not concerned because they are into halfway houses and monitoring services etc..
Having said that I support this, but will take into consideration it is mostly a “feel good” order so he can say…see what I did. I just hope the general public who cares about these issues see this for what it is and continue to push for true reform.
If I’m not mistaken, the Obama administration attempted to do this as well. The targeted prisons were predominantly being used as indefinite detention centers for unlawful immigrants, with and without criminal convictions within the United States.
The Administration that came afterwards reversed that.
While all of this sounds great in speeches and on paper, all too often the actions come up woefully short. May I recommend grabbing some popcorn and watch how this unfolds as opposed to arguing amongst ourselves?
This “might” set a viable precedent for use in the future.
Smoke and mirrors. This is not the reform we are looking for, go about your business. Haven’t we learned by now that any “rehabilitation and redemption” ALWAYS excludes “sex offenders”? Don’t want to shatter any hopes, but let’s keep it real!
JZ
That is because a large majority of people believe “EVERYONE” can be reformed but us. Their motto is “Once a sex offender, Always a sex offender”.
Many believe we are ticking time bombs holding in our inner desires just waiting for the right moment or opportunity to pounce on our next victim.
What is odd though, many like myself and others, who never had a charge before or since. My Offense was 1991. Believe me, if I wanted to offend, I had plenty of opportunities, but that is not who I am. Getting law makers to believe that is another story.
@CherokeeJack:
That misconception about once a sex offender, always a sex offender is John Robert’s fault. If we could only convince his somehow that what he read from a debunked Psychology Today article was a false dichotomy that translated into bad policies and precedents…
That’s when we hold them accountable for their paradoxical thinking.
I seek to remind all of those in positions of political influence when their statements contradict their actions. Don’t let them sit comfortably in their hypocrisy.
To : Anonymous
That is one of the many reasons they want to stop anyone with a sex offense from ever voting. I do not know the exact number of people in Florida with a sex offense in their past. I do however, know some ballot issues have been won or lost by a mere margin of a few votes.
If we were allowed to vote, imagine what we could do. That is also why they found loopholes when non sex offender ex-felons were granted voting rights. All of a sudden stipulations of fines and court costs came up to block them from doing so.
The Executive Order does not exclude sex offenders.
I have worked with dozens of people who did time in a private facility for a Federal sex offense. It’s not like the BOP is going to keep their contract facilities open just to house sex offenders. No such exception is made in the Executive Order.
When those contracts expire, no one will be designated to those facilities anymore.
Judging from the comments below, a number of FAC members would actually be OK with Biden allowing such facilities to continue to operate. This is where we may have to agree to disagree.
All private prisons, at both federal and state levels, must close. Period. End of discussion.
It would be such fair pay back for this “person” to get to do some time for DUI in one of his own sponsored private prisons. The one consolation we all have is that one day he and his daughter will be held accountable. As long as they continue condemning people around them, that day will not be pretty for them.
When the subject of sex offenders hits the fan what is Biden gonna do,, Reporter asks Biden, what about the sex offenders that are locked up in these prisons? Are you gonna just turn them lose? Biden stutters for a few and then says something like Oh no of coarse not. Biden knows all to well if he sides with the sex offenders life as he knows it is over. The wrath will come at him from all sides and he knows it. We sex offenders got’s a better chance of seeing god.
This has nothing to do with “sex offenders”. Why are people trying to conflate this?
This is about private prisons. No one has said anything about releasing the people from just those prisons. If a private prison is closed, anyone who still needs to serve a sentence simply needs to be moved to a different prison.
As others have already said, for-profit prisons absolutely should not exist. They are immoral. I would keep extending that concept to anything related to punishment from the legal system (e.g. there should not be for-profit probation companies). Earning profits from imprisoning people is immoral.
Of course, even if a function is completely run by big government, there is a lot of scabbing for the $$$$$. That can be controlled to some degree though. And they aren’t really making a “profit”. Some are sort of, in that they are way overpaid.
The Hit Lists are very similar. I live in Georgia and the sheriffs here will support just about anything that drags $$$$$ into their organizations. A lot of it ends up directly in the overpaid sheriffs’ pockets. They are grossly overcompensated in Georgia. All good Americans should be fighting every day to keep money away from big government and especially their law enforcement criminals.
This has nothing to do with “sex offenders”. Why are people trying to conflate this?
Dear Mr Allen,
Whenever there is talk about anything to do with prison, prison reform or opportunities for inmates after leaving prison, the first thing everyone is worried about are the pesky “sex offenders”. You have to be living under a rock to not have heard this “concern” pop up ANY TIME there is talk about ANY KIND of prison reform.
Will Allen wrote: “This has nothing to do with ‘sex offenders’. Why are people trying to conflate this?” This has everything to do with sex offenders because of the language found in Biden’s Executive Order on the private prisons the feds use to house inmates. Nobody here is conflating anything about our cause.
For someone who claims executive orders are for dictators, he sure signed a lot of them in a week’s time. I believe he’s reached 40 by now. And I personally don’t give a damn about “private prisons”, the important part is right here;
“Incarcerated individuals should be given a fair chance to fully reintegrate into their communities, including by participating in programming tailored to earning a good living, securing affordable housing, and participating in our democracy as our fellow citizens.”
NO ONE WANTS TO APPLY THIS TO ANYONE WITH A SEX OFFENSE. PERIOD. I told you people in these comments MONTHS AGO that it doesn’t matter if it’s democrats or republicans, NO ONE IS GOING TO FORGIVE SEX OFFENSES no matter how much either side clutches their bible. Face the reality. Sex is DANGEROUS! Maybe when the communist democrats take away the right to bear arms, they’ll also take away the right to bear your own male anatomy ‘down below’. Because SEX IS DANGEROUS!!!! It’s worse than murder for frigsakes!
I’m so fed up with this crap.
This order sure is upsetting a lot of people on this forum.
Yet no one can point to any language in it that harms registrants, or that they disagree with.
Y’all are just running out of things to be mad about, I think.
Has this forum become an outrage machine?
Agreed – this is a GOOD thing. If anything we can cite to the President’s objectives of rehabilitation and not retribution as well as successful reintegration when crafting our own statements.