bipartisan legislation to provide additional oversight of federal prisons to address widespread scandals and misconduct, in particular sexual abuse of incarcerated residents at the hands of prison officers. \
Under the proposed reforms, people incarcerated by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons would have the ability to report abuses to an accountability office through a hotline, reported ABC News. The bill, known as the Federal Prison Oversight Act, was introduced by Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia.
“My bipartisan investigations of corruption, abuse, and misconduct in the federal prison system revealed an urgent need to overhaul federal prison oversight,” Ossof said. “I am bringing Republicans and Democrats together to crack down on corruption, strengthen public safety, and protect civil rights.”
The bill would also mandate inspections by a federal watchdog, a risk assessment of all BOP facilities, the formulation of response plans, and expand congressional reporting requirements.
Last year, former residents of federal prisons testified to congress about abuses they suffered while incarcerated, which helped lay the groundwork for the legislation.
For example, Briane Moore testified in December 2022 that an officer at a federal facility in West Virginia raped her, according to the ABC story.
“I knew he had the power to prevent me from being transferred to a prison closer to my family, closer to my daughter,” Moore said. “He was a captain with total control over me. I had no choice but to obey.”
The legislation has broad support from prison reform groups such as Families Against Mandatory Minimums, as well as incarcerated people and a correctional workers’ union.
Families Against Mandatory Minimums Pres. Kevin Rigg said, “Families with incarcerated loved ones and correctional officers have known about this crisis for years, and now Congress is on notice.”
