PPRS (PSR) Prison Match™
A Criminal Defense – PSR Case Management Software that provides recommendation ‘options’ for prison placement.
Prison Match™ takes into account:
- Medical and mental healthcare needs; implemented through the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) CARE LEVEL I-IV Structure.
- Continuity of medical care.
- Medications, are they ‘on formulary’ (or available)?
- Security requirements.
- Existing interests in either college, or in learning an occupational trade through an apprenticeship – Reducing Recidivism.
The problem, or why PPRS Prison Match™ is needed
Following a “guilty” verdict, the defendant enters the post-guilty verdict phase. This phase can usually last several months and culminates in sentencing; where the judge determines the length of the incarceration. The defense team can provide the court with a qualified request for prison placement, then if the judge agrees; they can provide this recommendation for placement to the Bureau of Prisons (BOP). While the Federal Bureau of Prisons has the final say regarding a defendant’s placement into a specific facility, it does try to take judge’s recommendations into account. Several factors contribute to the placement decision, including:
- The length of the sentence.
- The defendant’s legal residence.
- The defendant’s medical and/or mental healthcare CARE LEVEL requirements.
- Security levels.
- Bed space availability.
- Public Safety Factors [Chapter 4: Inmate Load and Security Designation and Instruction Form, BP-337).
BOP Policy:
2013; Guidance: Home Confinement and Reentry Center Placement.
USSC Sentence National Seminar Computation Slideshow 2017.
Sentencing
This process is not currently part of most law school curriculum’s, as they generally do not cover the federal sentencing and prison placement designation processes in detail. As a result, while some attorneys are aware (of the specific placement process) that they can make a placement recommendation for their client to the court, there are others that just leave it to the Federal Bureau of Prisons to get it done. This holds true in Alan Ellis’s article published in the September 2017 issue of The Federal Lawyer.
What Federal Judges Want to Know at Sentencing
“It’s surprising how many otherwise competent attorneys ‘punt’ at the sentencing hearing.”