The director of BOP is resigning after 30 years in the bureau
The director of the federal Bureau of Prisons plans to resign amid reports of widespread corruption in the federal prison system.
Michael Carvajal, who was appointed to his present position under the Trump administration, told Attorney General Merrick Garland he is resigning from the bureau after serving in it for 30 years, according to a report from The Associated Press that was confirmed by Fox News.
Carvajal intends to stay until his replacement is appointed.
Carvajal’s pending departure comes months after the AP reported that the Bureau of Prisons “is a hotbed of abuse, graft and corruption, and has turned a blind eye to employees accused of misconduct.” More than 100 BOP workers have been arrested, convicted, or sentenced for crimes since 2019, with one warden being charged with sexual abuse of an inmate. The spread of COVID-19 among inmates in federal prisons has also been a point of contention.
The AP’s reporting led to a congressional investigation and increasing calls from lawmakers for Carvajal to resign.
“Director Carvajal was handpicked by former Attorney General Bill Barr and has overseen a series of mounting crises, including failing to protect BOP staff and inmates from the COVID-19 pandemic, failing to address chronic understaffing, failing to implement the landmark First Step Act, and more,” Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said at the time. “It is past time for Attorney General Garland to replace Director Carvajal with a reform-minded Director who is not a product of the BOP bureaucracy.”
Durbin praised Carvajal’s resignation, saying it was “an opportunity for new, reform-minded leadership at the Bureau of Prisons.”
Source: Fox News
Actually resigning or being given the chance to retire with full benefits and avoid further embarrassment under the pressure to “resign”?
Will the abuse and corruption occur under a new leader? Maybe it’s time for true reform and stop the prison cottage industry: more beds filled means more money. Oh wait, if you take the train off the track the government would be railroaded and can’t have that happen.
Whoever holds this #1 position will find it just about impossible to change the culture of the U.S. BOP. Not to say that Director Carvajal is a saint by any means. I’m sure he found his way to the top position due to a corrupt heart, a willingness to “go along to get along”, intentional inactions (not rocking the boat), and intentional overt contributions to further the draconian culture of the BOP. The next man or woman to hold the position will not be able to work miracles in any short period of time. The turning of the ship will take years and years and many, many more BOP managers, administrators, wardens, assistant wardens, CO union chiefs, and rank and file CO’s will do whatever they can to maintain the status quo and defeat efforts for reform. It’s motivated not only by the money, but also the power/ego trip, and satisfaction of punishing those they abhor (people of color, sex offenders, etc.). I wish the next director the best of luck. They’ll need it.