SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2008 AT 01:19AM
How I Benefit From The 2nd Chance Act Of 2007
I'm sitting in my cube digesting the news I just received from my counselor and case manager at my team meeting. Team meetings measure an inmate's progress. Inmates with longer than one year remaining to serve have a team meeting every six months. Inmates with less than one year remaining have team meetings every 3 months. A myriad of topics are covered at these meetings, including job review and evaluation (I'm still mopping floors), restitution payments (my payments were increased to $100 a quarter up from $25), program participation (I participate in two programs), and behavior and/or incident report (my behavior was rated excellent and I have no incidents). The last discussed topic was the Second Chance Act of 2007 and my release date.
I'll be released from Taft Correctional Institution on May 20, 2009. Upon leaving Taft, I'll report (about ten hours later) to Vinewood Correctional Center (half-way house) in Hollywood. I'll reside there until July 2, 2009. I'll then be on home confinement until my sentence concludes on August 17th.
My release from federal prison will arrive 42 days sooner because of the recently passed Second Chance Act which was signed into law on April 9, 2008, just 19 days before I surrendered to prison. The Second Chance Act's primary goal, amongst others, was to change the Bureau of Prisons' (BOP) statutory authority for making pre-release residential re-entry center placement decisions. Maximum time for pre-release placement was increased from 6 months to 12.
Sentences, depending on the length of the sentence, receive different amounts of half-way house time. My 18 month sentence grants me 45 days, while a 6 year sentence grants 6 months. TCI (Taft Correctional Institution) is nearly doubling inmates' half-way house time. As of this writing, despite half-way house time increasing to 12 months, the inmates with shorter sentences, like me, are receiving the most help. As an example, my cube mate (bunkie) is completing a 6 year sentence and he is eligible for 12 months half-way house placement. Unfortunately, he just learned that his half-way house time will not be increased despite the new law.
Of course, there is never a good time to go to federal prison. With that said, if I had to go, this was the time. I'm benefiting from the first piece of positive prison reform in nearly 3 decades. I'm grateful to the Bureau of Prisons, counselor and case manager for granting me the extra time. It's not a requirement, but a privilege, and I will never discount the advantages of leaving prison 6 weeks early.
Justin Paperny
