Home> Legal Associations> Criminal Defense Lawyers Associations> NACDL - National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers> News >Nation’s Criminal Defense Bar Applauds Passage of Federal Prison Oversight Act – Washington, DC (July 11, 2024)
NACDL - National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

Nation’s Criminal Defense Bar Applauds Passage of Federal Prison Oversight Act – Washington, DC (July 11, 2024)

Washington, DC (July 11, 2024)– Congress has passed the Federal Prison Oversight Act, a bill that bolsters inspections of the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) by mandating risk-based evaluations of BOP facilities and establishes a Department of Justice (DOJ) Ombudsman to manage complaints and investigations and prohibits BOP retaliation against individuals who make complaints to the Ombudsman. The bill is awaiting the president’s signature.

The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) applauds passage of this bill as a long overdue step towards transparency in the federal prison system, which has been plagued by abuse and dangerous conditions. The NACDL Board of Directors adopted a resolution supporting an independent oversight body for the Federal Bureau of Prisons in 2022.

"From abysmal healthcare to violence and sexual assault by corrections officers, civil rights violations permeate federal prisons," said NACDL President Michael P. Heiskell. "The BOP must address the rampant dysfunction, human rights abuses, and failure to implement congressional directives. The Federal Prison Oversight Act will provide much needed transparency and accountability in support of reform. While not a panacea, it will provide enhanced scrutiny and mechanisms to ensure complaints about conditions are heard beyond the prison walls and taken seriously."

"Defense attorneys are all too familiar with the crisis of neglect and culture of dehumanization in our nation’s federal prisons," said NACDL Executive Director Lisa Wayne. "The passage of this bill is a critical step towards improving the health and safety of those incarcerated in BOP facilities. Oversight measures alone will not solve these crises, but they are an important step in the right direction."

NACDL has long worked to help incarcerated individuals suffering in federal prisons. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the COVID-19 Compassionate Release Project, a partnership with FAMM, recruited pro bono attorneys to file compassionate release motions on behalf of medically vulnerable individuals. The two groups are currently working to secure release of women sexually assaulted at a federal prison in Dublin, California. Learn more about NACDL’s compassionate release initiatives.

Contacts

Jessie Diamond, Public Affairs and Communications Strategist, (202) 465-7647 or jdiamond@nacdl.org

The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers is the preeminent organization advancing the mission of the criminal defense bar to ensure justice and due process for persons accused of crime or wrongdoing. A professional bar association founded in 1958, NACDL's many thousands of direct members in 28 countries – and 90 state, provincial and local affiliate organizations totaling up to 40,000 attorneys – include private criminal defense lawyers, public defenders, military defense counsel, law professors and judges committed to preserving fairness and promoting a rational and humane criminal legal system.


This article was syndicated from the NACDL website and originally appeared on:
https://www.nacdl.org/newsrelease/News-Release-~-Passage-of-Federal-Prison-Oversight

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NACDL - National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

Founded in 1958, NACDL is the largest organization for criminal defense lawyers fighting to preserve fairness within America's criminal justice system. The organization has more than 10,000 direct members including criminal defense attorneys in private practice, public defenders in state or federal court, U.S. military defense counsel, law professors and judges.

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