Advocacy Group, A Just Cause, Analyzes Cost Of Incarceration At Federal Prison Camp
Denver, Colorado (PRWEB) November 14, 2013 -- A Just Cause recently conducted an analysis of the cost of incarcerating low risk inmates at federal prison camps vs. home confinement. As a case study, A Just Cause reviewed the case of the IRP6.
The IRP6 case concerns an African-American company (IRP Solutions Corporation) in Colorado that developed the Case Investigative Life Cycle (CILC) criminal investigations software for federal, state, and local law enforcement. The IRP6 (Kendrick Barnes, Gary L Walker, Demetrius K. Harper, Clinton A Stewart, David A Zirpolo and David A Banks) were convicted in 2011 after being accused of mail and wire fraud. The IRP6 have been incarcerated at the Federal Prison Camp in Florence Colorado for over 15 months.
(D. Ct. No. 1:09-CR-00266-CMA).
According to the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) weekly population report (http://www.bop.gov/locations/weekly_report.jsp), there are an estimated 550 inmates at Federal Prison Camp, Florence Colorado. The BOP also reports, “The fee to cover the average cost of incarceration for Federal inmates in Fiscal Year 2011 was $28,893.40” (Annual Determination of Average Cost of Incarceration, Federal Register, 3/18/13, https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2013/03/18/2013-06139/annual-determination-of-average-cost-of-incarceration)./
“Considering there are over 550 inmates at Florence and each of us cost approximately $30k per year, the cost to taxpayers is somewhere around $16,500,000.00 per year”, asserts David Banks, IRP6/Chief Operating Officer, IRP Solutions Corporation (Annual Determination of Average Cost of Incarceration, Federal Register, 3/18/13).
According to a report published by the Urban Institute, the annual cost of supervision by probation officers in the community is about $3,433 per offender per year (Urban Institute, Justice Policy Center, December 2012, http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/412693-The-Growth-and-Increasing-Cost-of-the-Federal-Prison-System.pdf).
A Just Cause’s analysis of the federal prison camp at Florence Colorado found that a facility like Florence could potentially be staffed by 30 staff members (including 10 correctional officers, 3 counselors, 4 food service officers, an education officer, a recreation officer, a unit manager, a camp administrator, a physician’s assistant, a medical secretary, a dental hygienist, 2 unit administrative assistants, a R&D officer, a RDAP Officer, and Non-residential Drug Program officer).
Based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management Salary Tables for 2013, salaries for staff at a facility like Florence Colorado could range from $17,000/year to over $150,000/year (U.S. Office of Personnel Management Salary Tables, http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/2013/general-schedule/gs.pdf).
“For purposes of this analysis we used an average annual salary of $50K”, says Sam Thurman, A Just Cause. “50K times 30 staff members is a cost to taxpayers of at least $1,500,000.00 per year. Take that along with the $16,500,000.00 per year to incarcerate over 550 inmates and you are looking at total cost of at least $18,000,000.00 per year to the taxpayer”, affirms Thurman.
The IRP6 have been incarcerated in a federal prison camp in Florence, Colorado for over 15 months (D. Ct. No. 1:09-CR-00266-CMA). “The IRP6 case is a classic situation where home confinement was a viable alternative to incarceration”, asserts Banks. “We were denied bond pending appeal under the auspice that we were flight risks, but then they send us to a prison camp where there are no fences”, Banks elaborates. “We were on home confinement before while on bond pending sentencing, and we never violated the conditions of that bond”, argues Banks (D. Ct. No. 1:09-CR-00266-CMA). “You would think that while we are waiting on the ruling on our appeal, it would have been more cost effective to once again place us on home confinement”, states Banks.
“According to our estimates, if all of the Florence prison camp inmates were placed in home confinement, the annual cost would be roughly $1.9 million, based on $3,433 per inmate per year (Urban Institute Justice Policy Center, December 2012, http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/412693-The-Growth-and-Increasing-Cost-of-the-Federal-Prison-System.pdf), not including government paid ankle monitoring services, and additional costs for medical expenses for the inmates and benefits for probation officers and other administrative officials, etc”, says Sam Thurman, A Just Cause.
“There is a considerable impact on tax-payers relevant to staffing and housing inmates inside federal prison camps”, shares Banks. “Consider me and my five co-defendants. Over the past 15 months we have collectively cost the U.S. taxpayer over $200,000.00”, calculates Banks.
“I firmly believe that we were definitely candidates for bond pending appeal given our situation, but the district court apparently did not consider 10th Circuit precedent; consequently we have been sitting here for over 15 months waiting on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals to make a ruling on our case”, contends Banks (D. Ct. No. 1:09-CR-00266-CMA).
“It’s astounding, and court records will show, that Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirsch and Judge Arguello made the argument that the IRP6 were flight risks and denied bond because our case was ‘comparable to that of Bernie Madoff - the architect of a $50 billion dollar Ponzi scheme… the largest in U.S. history’”, recalls Banks (U.S. v Madoff, 316 F.2d 58, 59 (2d. Cir. 2009), and D. Ct. No. 1:09-CR-00266-CMA). “That was an extreme and unreasonable comparison”, proclaims Banks.
“We are all still here fighting for justice. Our families fight for justice. A Just Cause fights for justice. Many in the public are fighting for our justice, for which we are grateful”, proclaims Banks. “It’s not the Al Sharpton’s, Jesse Jackson’s, Congressman or the mainstream media, or even the courts really — all of which are members of the political expediency club. Lady Justice has removed her blindfold and is using it as a bandana to represent her gang affiliation with the political expedient. We look to God to fight for us and ultimately give us our freedom back because the courts cannot be relied upon to render justice. If they could, the IRP6 case would have already been reversed based on the (alleged) missing transcript and we would not have been denied bond supported by such weak, disingenuous arguments”, concludes Banks.
The case of IRP Solutions (IRP6) is currently under appeal, citing among other things that 200 pages of the court transcript are allegedly missing which would validate a violation of the defendants’ Fifth Amendment right (US District Court for the District of Colorado, Honorable Christine M. Arguello, D. Ct. No. 1:09-CR-00266-CMA; Case Nos: NO. 11-1487, Case Nos. 11-1488, 11-1489, 11-1490, 11-1491 an 11-1492). Appellate Court panel includes the Honorable Senior Judge Bobby R. Baldock, Honorable Judge Harris L. Hartz, and Honorable Judge Jerome A. Holmes.
For the entire manuscript of the Mr. Banks’ comments regarding the Cost of Incarcerating the IRP6, information about the story of the IRP6, or for copies of the legal filings go to http://www.freetheirp6.org. Related press releases: http://www.a-justcause.com/#!press-release/c21pq
Sam Thurman, A Just Cause, +1 7192715854, [email protected]
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