First Step Act and You

First Step Act and You

If a person faces time in federal prison, that person should read more and learn more about the First Step Act. It is the most significant prison reform legislation in decades, and it influences every person in prison. For many, the First Step Act will lead to an earlier release date.

Team Contribution on First Step Act

At Prison Professors, we strive to help people targeted by the criminal justice system. The more people understand, the better they can make decisions. 

Opportunity costs accompany every decision. Sometimes collateral consequences follow that the person didn’t anticipate. As a person that served many decades in prison, Michael offered his thoughts in the video above. He tells us various ways the system has evolved since he started serving his sentence, in 1987.

My name is Luke and I’m glad to contribute to the team at Prison Professors. Every person that works with us has gone through the criminal justice system. We know how good decisions empower us to manage circumstances and influence possibilities for a brighter future. 

A judge sentenced me to serve four years for a white-collar crime. By making good decisions early, I succeeded in being able to serve the vast majority of my term on home confinement—rather than inside a federal prison camp.

We strive to teach lessons we’ve learned by going through every stage of the journey.

Our series on The First Step Act offers suggestions for people going into the system and for people who are already inside. Sometimes it’s difficult to grasp the relationship between our adjustment patterns and our prospects for an early release.

Regardless of how long a person spends in prison, a person can always work toward a principled path that will lead to a better outcome.

Resources on the First Step Act:

The Bureau of Prison’s website (www.BOP.gov) offers an encyclopedia of information on a variety of subjects. The website includes a specific section on the First Step Act of 2018 (FSA).

Michael describes the FSA as the most influential prison-reform legislation in the U.S. in 30 years. If it were not for the First Step Act, and my good adjustment decisions, I would have served far longer in prison.

Before we dive into the First Step Act, let’s go over the history behind this legislation and how sentencing and sentencing mitigation has evolved.

History of Sentencing:

Before 1987, the federal system relied upon “Indeterminate Sentencing.” In other words, a judge would impose a sentence. Later, members of the U.S. Parole Commission would take another look at the individual. Members of the Parole Commission could authorize a person’s early release from prison, allowing the person to serve a portion of the sentence in the community.

The U.S. Parole Commission would consider several factors when assessing whether a person should remain in prison. In most cases, the Parole Board would release people to serve a portion of the sentence on parole—in the community. Typically, a person would serve 1/3 of their sentence in prison, 1/3 on parole, and they would earn a 1/3 reduction as an incentive for good behavior.

In the accompanying video, Michael said that he considered the term “good time” a misnomer. Administrators award good-time credits to anyone that doesn’t receive disciplinary infractions. For that reason, he said it would be more accurate as the avoidance of bad behavior.

Congress passed The Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984 to switch from an indeterminate sentencing system to a “determinate” sentencing system—also known as truth-in-sentencing. The new law did away with many factors, such as generous good-time credits and the U.S. Parole Commission. It also introduced the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which judges have used when imposing sentences on crimes committed after November 1, 1988.

The new sentencing system reduced “good time credit” to 15% of the original sentence. Until the First Step Act became law, few mechanisms could result in an early release from prison.

The First Step Act made drastic changes, opening opportunities for people to petition stakeholders for early release.

Although President Trump signed the First Step Act in December 2018, people in prison didn’t start to receive full benefits until 2022. The law had provisions for a slow rollout, primarily because the BOP would have to train staff and also create new instruments, such as the PATTERN risk-assessment tool.

As a person that got direct benefit from the First Step Act, I’m blessed.

The BOP website offers direction on how administrators interpret the law. Still, complications exist.

In the video, Michael suggests any person going into the system should work to build a positive record of accomplishments. Ideally, a person should build a record to show an “extraordinary and compelling” adjustment. Such a record can prove influential in advancing a release date.

Building such a record requires engineering. If a person starts to think about his or her future early, the person can begin sowing seeds. The harder a person works, the more documentation the record will show.

No one can guarantee that a judge will reduce a sentence or that administrators will allow a person to serve the sentence in the community. Yet a person that builds an “extraordinary and compelling” record of adjustment will likely find a more receptive judge. The record will allow the person to advocate better, and it may persuade other people to advocate on his or her behalf.

Historically the culture of confinement in the U.S. criminal justice system has been a culture of saying “No.”

Michael said that during his term, administrators frequently told him: “we don’t care anything about your future, we only care about the security of the institution.”

The First Step Act, in theory at least, changed the BOP’s mission. With the First Step Act, administrators should incentivize people to prepare for law-abiding, contributing lives upon release.

Our team recommends that people stop thinking about their problems and challenges. Instead, people in prison should think about the ways they can reconcile and build a powerful record. Their record of accomplishments may help them positively influence others. 

In the video, Michael suggested some questions:

• What plans have you made to work toward the future you want to create?
• What tools, tactics, and resources can you develop that align with your plans?
• How will your accomplishments influence the people you will meet in the future?  
• How will your adjustment influence your success upon release?

The Bureau of Prisons is a massive agency that employs more than 30,000 people. Like any bureaucracy, it cares more about policies and forms than it cares about people. To implement the First Step Act, the BOP had to create many new training resources—and it likely has a long way to go.

We will create a series of videos and articles to help people get a practical understanding of the First Step Act.

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