Alternatives To Incarceration: The Sentencing Commission Looks At How Sentences Are Being Implemented

The Sentencing Commission has invited federal defenders to participate in its Symposium on Alternatives to Incarceration in Washington, D.C., on July 14 and 15, 2008. In preparation for the symposium, we have prepared an article entitled The Sentencing Commission, The Bureau of Prisons, And The Need For Full Implementation Of Existing Ameliorative Statutes To Address Unwarranted And Unauthorized Over-Incarceration, which is available here. We explain how sentences are being executed to require more actual custody time, at the cost of hundreds of millions of dollars, due the failure to fully implement statutes that provide for good time credits, incentives for substance abuse treatment and boot camp participation, sentence reductions for “extraordinary and compelling circumstances,” credit for time in custody and concurrent time, and community corrections. The article not only provides estimated savings from full implementation of ameliorative statutes, we also trace the litigation history, which provides an update for our litigation outline, which is available here. The hard-to-find supporting documents are posted here.