Sure -- there are some confusing variables, in this data set. Most of all, it is likely that in the teeth of a pandemic (mid 2020 to later 2021), anyone lucky enough to get an early release -- so as to reduce risk of catching the virus. . . would do just about anything, to avoid. . . catching the virus (i.e., to avoid going back into the Petri dish that is the prison system, at the BoP). And, to be sure, in the main -- those released were over 45 years old, and had served more than half of their sentences.
Even so, the idea of ankle monitors and home confinement has much merit -- for non-violent offenses -- and offenders. If nothin' else, it would save billions of tax dollars now being dumped into the prisons. H/T to Anon.!
Yes, our Anon. commenter is definitely on to something: this data argues for a wholesale rethinking of the penchant for prison time, in America:
. . .To protect those most vulnerable to covid-19 during the pandemic, the Cares Act allowed the Justice Department to order the release of people in federal prisons and place them on home confinement. More than 11,000 people were eventually released. Of those, the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) reported that only 17 of them committed new crimes.
That’s not a typo. Seventeen. That’s a 0.15 percent recidivism rate in a country where it’s normal for 30 to 65 percent of people coming home from prison to reoffend within three years of release. . . .
Except for people convicted of some offenses, such as sex offenses, no one was automatically barred from consideration because of their crime, sentence length or time served. The BOP instead assessed each eligible person individually, looking at their prison disciplinary record, any violent or gang-related conduct and their risk to the public. . . .
Most of the 17 people who re-offended did so for low level, drug related incidents. . . that is telling in and of itself. But it is hard to get Congress to even consider measures to reform sentencing in the US -- let alone pass anything meaningful.
Onward, smiling into a fine clear cool evening -- with a fresh tray of brightly colored sushi -- comin' up!
नमस्ते
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