What Diddy’s Experience Says About the Federal Penal System
Recently, Sean “Diddy” Combs had a release date calculated and entered onto the Bureau of Prison’s (“BOP”) website, currently set for May 8, 2028. Earlier this year, Mr. Combs was sentenced to 50 months incarceration, along with a $500,000 fine after he was convicted of interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution, although he was acquitted of several other charges by a jury. After a sentence is imposed in a federal case, whether after a guilty plea or a guilty verdict after trial, defendants such as Mr. Combs that have been sentenced to more than one year in custody can expect to only serve 85% of any custodial sentence if they earn credit for good behavior (i.e., they do not commit any transgressions while in custody), meaning Diddy should expect to serve roughly 42 ½ months on his federal sentence from the outset should he receive credit for good behavior. In addition, inmates can receive further reductions in their custodial sentence through education and rehabilitation programs offered by the BOP, meaning it is likely that his May 8, 2028, release date will continue to change should he participate in those rehabilitation programs. Some programs, such as the 500-hour Residential Drug Abuse Program (“RDAP”) can shave a year off an inmate’s sentence upon successful completion. Moreover, there is also an opportunity for halfway house placement, referred to as Residential Reentry Management placement, as well as home-confinement which can place an inmate in a transitional facility or even their own home for a portion of their sentence. It is worth noting that inmates such as Mr. Combs who are detained prior to their trial receive credit for the time spent in pretrial custody, but that in the federal system, no such credit is given for time on bond (pretrial release) even if the Court imposed certain conditions such as home confinement (incarceration), home detention, or the use of location monitoring or other restrictions on or conditions of movement during the pendency of the case. The Court in Diddy’s case previously declined to recommend a minimum-security facility for Mr. Combs to serve the remainder of his sentence once he is transferred from MDC Brooklyn to another BOP facility. MDC Brooklyn typically only houses inmates in pretrial custody or those who were in the facility at the time sentencing who only have a small amount of time remaining on their sentence. Even if the Court had recommended a minimum-security facility for Mr. Combs, the authority for designations rests solely in the BOP’s judgment, although a judge’s recommendation will be noted and considered before an ultimate designation is determined.
The First Step Act and Custodial Credits
In 2018, Congress passed the “First Step Act” in a bid that radically altered the federal prison system for inmates and allows certain inmates to earn credits and reduce their custodial sentence. It has been largely successful in seeing inmates reduce their time in custody and has improved over the years with just recently the BOP announcing an operational shift which aims at improving transparency by directing staff to utilize the FSA Conditional Placement Date (“FCPD”) otherwise known as the time credit worksheet that makes such a calculation easier. “This change reflects our continued commitment to managing the inmate population in a way that is both fair and consistent with the law,” said Rick Stover, Special Assistant to the Director. “By using Conditional Placement Dates, we are improving operational efficiency, supporting our staff, and honoring the intent of the First Step Act.” This new system will allow inmates to receive lower designations easier as they earn credits and can help individuals potentially be released into the community to serve the last months/year of their custodial sentence into halfway houses or even home confinement when available/appropriate. Inmates such as Mr. Combs can expect these credits to apply to their sentence through their rehabilitation efforts should they utilize the programs/credits available to they serve less time in custody than what they were sentenced to serve, although the credits are not available to all inmates. For example, inmates who are ordered removed based on their immigration status or those convicted of certain excludable crimes will not receive credit. Any federal inmates, or their loved ones, who believe an inmate is not receiving the sentencing credit and benefits of the First Step Act they are entitled to, should contact an experienced federal criminal defense attorney to help them through the process and ensure they are receiving the maximum amounts of credits towards their sentence.
