BRIDGEPORT, W.Va (WDTV) – Legislation aimed at bringing greater transparency to U.S. federal prisons, including Hazelton in Preston County, was officially signed into law by President Joe Biden Thursday.
The Federal Prison Oversight Act, co-sponsored by Senators Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito, will create new oversight structure to ensure greater safety and accountability in the Federal Bureau of Prison’s 122 facilities nationwide.
The act will mandate routine inspections at all facilities by the Department of Justice Inspector General and will also establish a new supervisory body to investigate the health, safety, welfare and rights of incarcerated people and staff.
This legislation was introduced in 2022 following reports of abuse, staff shortages and dangerous conditions in federal prisons in West Virginia and across the nation.
“Our bipartisan, bicameral Federal Prison Oversight Act is historic legislation that will truly improve safety and accountability in all federal prison facilities for both staff and inmates,” Manchin said. “Following serious accounts of abuse, staff shortages, and dangerous conditions at federal prisons in West Virginia and across the nation, it is even more critical that this commonsense legislation be swiftly implemented. I am grateful to my bipartisan colleagues who worked together to get it across the finish line and I look forward to seeing its impact on improving our federal prison system.”
The full text of the legislation is available here.
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