The problem, why PPRS Prison Match™ is needed

  • Sentencing Hearing / Prison Placement Recommendations

  1. The sentencing process regarding prison placement recommendations is not currently part of most law school curriculum’s as they generally do not teach federal sentencing; the details involved in a defendants prison placement and the Medical and Mental Healthcare CARE LEVEL I-IV structure; processes in detail.
  2. As a result there are attorneys who are aware of the specific placement process in detail, and who make qualified placement recommendations for their clients to the court.
  3. The majority though just leave it to the Federal Bureau of Prisons to make these placement decisions assumed accurate, without oversight. The result is that there are some subsequent transfers being requested and made due to erroneous initial placements, however rare.  Ultimately it is cheaper, medically prudent and more timely to provide these placements accurately the first time.
  4. This holds true in Alan Ellis’s article: ‘What Federal Judges Want To Know At Sentencing’, published in the September 2017 issue of The Federal Lawyer: “It’s surprising how many otherwise competent attorneys ‘punt’ at the sentencing hearing.”

PPRS Prison Match™ – a Federal Criminal Defense ‘PSR’ Case Management Software providing recommendation ‘options’ for prison placement.

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:

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.

BOP Policy:

2013; Guidance: Home Confinement and Reentry Center Placement. 

USSC Sentence National Seminar Computation Slideshow 2017.

What is the Presentence Report (PSR)?