DC Residents in the Federal Bureau of Prisons

Twenty-two years ago, Congress passed the National Capital Revitalization and Self-Government Improvement Act of 1997 (the "D.C. Revitalization Act"). Through this legislation, the federal government took over most of the District of Columbia’s criminal justice responsibilities.  Every District resident who is convicted of a felony serves his or her sentence in a federal prison. The President appoints the District’s judges and prosecutors.

In mid 2019, there were approximately 4,600 District residents incarcerated in 122 different federal prisons around the country. DC residents are isolated from their families and communities. Criminal justice research indicates that maintaining relationships with family and friends is a key predictor of recidivism.

Because most DC residents in prison are far from home, IAHR launched a PenPal program in November 2017. Over 300 people have signed up to be pen pals with a DC resident in the Bureau of Prisons. 

To become a pen pal, volunteers must attend an orientation. Orientations are held periodically, either as webinars or in person.  At the orientation, you will receive guidelines that we ask our pen pals to follow, as well as the name of an incarcerated person and some information about that person. If you would like to be a pen pal or would like some more information about the program, please click here.

While every DC resident convicted of a felony serves their sentence in a federal prison, DC residents awaiting trial or convicted of a misdemeanor are held in the DC Jail, located in Southeast. IAHR is now considering introducing a reporting bill before the DC Council that would require the DC Department of Corrections to provide information on how solitary confinement is used in the DC Jail.

Restoring Control of Parole to D.C.

IAHR is part of a coalition that believes it is time for the District government to reconsider whether the near-complete federalization of the system of criminal law enforcement in D.C. is still financially necessary and to identify logical next steps in this process. One of the District's first steps is to regain responsibility for the U.S. Parole Commission.

In addition to changes that led to the closure of the Lorton Prison Complex, the 1997 D.C. Revitalization Act abolished the D.C. Board of Parole, vesting decision-making authority in the federal U.S. Parole Commission (USPC) for parole grants to D.C. prisoners and for revocations of parole and supervised release for released prisoners. In 1997, the total DC prisoner population was approximately 11,500–12,000 across the D.C. Jail and the Lorton Prison Complex. In 2018, there were approximately 6,743 D.C. prisoners, with 2,043 held in local jails and 4,700 in the federal Bureau of Prisons.

The USPC was most recently re-authorized by the U.S. Congress through November 2020. If no action is taken, the USPC could be extended for another five years, or longer, maintaining federal control of D.C. Parole.

The USPC’s caseload is almost entirely made up of D.C. parole matters, with federal parole making up much less than 20 percent of the USPC’s caseload.

The USPC has become a driver of mass incarceration in D.C. The decisions of the USPC have been far harsher than those of the former D.C. Board of Parole, with hundreds of D.C. prisoners denied parole under punitive parole decision-making practices and thousands of D.C. returning citizens returned to incarceration for violation of the USPC’s rules. There are currently approximately 4,700 D.C. prisoners housed in the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). More than one-third of these prisoners are held for parole or supervised release violations (1,647). More than one-quarter of D.C. prisoners are serving sentences with parole eligibility (1,280).

The process for restoring local control of parole requires D.C. legislation to re-create a D.C. Board of Parole and federal legislative amendments to the D.C. Revitalization Act. It will also require new legislation reauthorizing the USPC for a limited interim transition period.

More than 300 IAHR supporters are penpals of DC residents in the Bureau of Prisons. This issue affects our pen pals. It is important that DC residents write Council member Brooke Pinto, who chairs theDC Council Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety. Please urge Council member Pinto and her Committee to come up with a plan to take back control of the U.S. Patrol Commission.