Norton to Meet with New Bureau of Prisons Director, Will Introduce Bill to Require BOP to House D.C. Residents Closer to D.C.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today announced that she will meet next week with the new Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Colette Peters, and that she will introduce a bill that would require BOP to place District of Columbia residents serving sentences for D.C. Code felonies in BOP facilities within 250 miles of D.C. Under the National Capital Revitalization and Self-Government Improvement Act of 1997, individuals serving sentences for D.C. Code felonies are in BOP custody.

"I look forward to meeting with Director Peters to discuss the unique mandate BOP has to house individuals convicted of D.C. Code felonies," Norton said. "As it does for all individuals in its custody, BOP has an obligation to keep D.C. residents safe and to help them prepare to reenter society. My bill would make reentry easier for D.C. residents by requiring BOP to house them closer to their families and support networks."

Currently, more than 2,000 D.C. residents are serving sentences for D.C. Code felonies, and they are in BOP facilities across the United States. Norton said that while Congress will not provide funding to BOP to build a new facility for D.C. residents serving sentences for D.C. Code felonies, there are more than enough existing BOP facilities within 250 miles of D.C. to house all such D.C. residents.

Under the bill, a D.C. resident who is already in a BOP facility at the time of enactment would be allowed to decline a transfer from the individual's current facility, and BOP would have authority to place a D.C. resident more than 250 miles outside of D.C. if it were in the best interest of the individual or BOP.

Earlier this month, Norton sent a letter to Peters regarding critical issues facing D.C. residents in BOP custody, including targeted violence.

###