Letter to the Hon. Michael Carvajal, Dir. of the Federal Bureau of Prisons - Norton Calls on Federal Bureau of Prisons to Release All Eligible Inmates at Hope Village, Investigate Conditions

Letter

Dear Director Carvajal:

I understand that a resident of Hope Village, the men's residential reentry center, or halfway house, in the District of Columbia, passed away this morning. This is the second death of a resident at Hope Village this weekend. I ask that you immediately investigate the conditions at Hope Village, and I renew my urgent call that the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) do an unannounced visit to the facility as soon as possible. Given these two deaths, a site visit is more urgent and appropriate than ever.

Next, I ask that you release as many individuals as possible from Hope Village, excluding, obviously, those for whose release would be inappropriate. Almost all the residents at Hope Village are transitioning home anyway, after having already served most of their sentences at a federal prison.

Hope Village is not a federal facility, but it houses BOP inmates through a federal contract, as well as D.C. Department of Corrections inmates through a D.C. contract. However, because it receives significant funding from BOP, I ask that you immediately investigate conditions at Hope Village. I also ask that you respond in writing within three days of the date of this letter, given the urgency of this matter.

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