Restoring the Possibility of Parole for Federal Prisoners

More than 210,000 people are sitting behind bars in a federal prison right now, roughly half for non-violent drug offenses -- and not one of them has the chance of getting parole.

Aiming to look tough on crime, the Democrat-controlled Congress of the 1980s took away the possibility of parole for federal prisoners, at the same time imposing new, draconian mandatory minimum sentences for minor drug offenses, with five grams of crack cocaine triggering a mandatory five year sentence. As a result, no one -- not even the model, rehabilitated prisoner -- has a chance of getting out of a federal prison before they complete 85 percent of their sentence, one reason why federal prisons are operating well over their stated capacity.

But efforts are afoot to change things, albeit modestly, for the better. A proposal from Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL) would increase federal prisoners' ability to shave off their sentence through good behavior. With the support of the non-profit FedCURE, the proposal was voted one of Change.org's top 10 "Ideas for Change" this year. It has also been endorsed by Families Against Mandatory Minimums, which says it would "substantially revive the good time system" that existed before Congress gutted it in the '80s.

Known as the "Good Time Bill," H.R. 1475 -- which you can urge your lawmaker to cosponsor here -- would increase the maximum amount of time a prisoner can trim off their sentence with good behavior from 47 days per year to as many as 120. It would also allow prisoners to earn time off their sentence for "exceptionally meritorious service or for performing duties of outstanding importance in connection with institutional operations."

"We spend enormous amounts of money holding individuals who have spent considerable time in punishment for their conviction, gone through rehabilitation programs and are now ready to re-enter the civilain world and become assets rather than liabilities to society," Rep. Davis said when he introduced the bill last year. "It is my feeling and that of many individuals and organizations who work with criminal justice and prison reform issues that we unnecessarily keep people confined, contained and imprisoned when many of them could be released and involved in re-entry activities which could help them to become productive tax-paying citizens, thereby reducing the burden on the nation's other tax payers."

And that's no small burden, either. As FedCURE points out, "Establishing a hybrid system of parole and increased good time allowances would save the U.S. taxpayer upwards of $7.4 billion dollars annually, with no risk to public safety." In these times of tightening budgets -- for everyone outside the Pentagon -- it'd sure be nice if Congress managed to both cut spending and the nation's bloated prison rolls at the same time.

Photo Credit: Matteo Parrini