Faith & Freedom Coalition Commends Trump Administration for Prioritizing Prison Conditions Amid COVID-19

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Faith & Freedom Coalition commends the Trump Administration and Attorney General William Bar for their decisive actions to prioritize prison conditions amid COVID-19. The novel coronavirus poses a significant threat for the incarcerated, as they live in extremely close quarters and frequently lack basic hygiene. The White House has quickly and thoughtfully responded to COVID-19 by creating the White House Coronavirus Task Force with Vice President Pence to chair the effort.

Additionally, Attorney General William Barr has directed the Federal Bureau of Prisons to grant home confinement to many sick and elderly inmates during coronavirus. Home confinement decreases the likelihood that elderly incarcerated individuals would die as a result of the spread of COVID-19 within prisons and also gives them access to improved medical care outside prison walls.  

Faith and Freedom applauds these leaders for their work to keep incarcerated individuals safe and urges Congress to build on their work. Bill H.R.4018 would ensure that home confinement options remain available to the elderly even after the pandemic has passed. The proposed legislation improves the Elderly Home Detention Pilot Program of the First Step Act by enabling incarcerated individuals over sixty years old who have served two-thirds of their prison sentence to complete their sentence in home confinement.

Today, Timothy Head, Executive Director of the Faith & Freedom Coalition, issued the following statement regarding U.S. Attorney General William Barr directing the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to expand its use of home confinement for inmates, in appropriate cases, as the coronavirus has continued to spread in the federal prison system.

“As Americans face an unprecedented public health crisis from COVID-19, an area that many Americans may not immediately think about is our justice system. With a federal system housing nearly 175,000 people in close quarters and with corrections staff coming and going in multiple shifts each and every day, guards and inmates are every bit as vulnerable to the spread of infectious disease as any Americans in a nursing home, college dormitory, school building, or other highly trafficked facility. The White House and Attorney General Barr’s quick and decisive action to increase the use of home confinement by federal prisons will help prevent further spread of the coronavirus and ultimate save lives. Already, four federal prison staffers and six federal inmates have tested positive for COVID-19. Attorney General Barr’s measured approach to permitting low-level, non-violent offenders who are virus-free to be allowed to serve the last portions of their sentences in home confinement rather than in overcrowded prisons will reduce the risk of COVID-19 to the prisoners in federal custody, while also minimizing the public health risk to the general public by better protecting prison guards, their families, and our communities at-large. States with overcrowded prisons would be well-advised to follow such a well-measured approach to our current challenge.”

The Faith and Freedom Coalition works to advocate for the core American values of faith, freedom, and family. Among its many priorities is justice reform, the work to make our system safe, fair, and equitable for all. Guided by Christ’s command to care for the least of these, the organization aims to advance policies that keep the incarcerated safe while in prison and empower them to make a new life upon their release. To learn more about the Faith & Freedom Coalition and President Trump’s responses to COVID-19, visit https://www.ffcoalition.com/covid-19/

About the Faith & Freedom Coalition

The Faith and Freedom Coalition is a national grassroots movement of over 2 million conservatives and people of faith in support of time-honored values, stronger families, and individual freedom. Learn more about Faith & Freedom at www.ffcoalition.com