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Murphy led a number of colleagues in calling for the Bureau of Prisons to stop the transfers because of the disruption in the lives of the inmates and their children. Most of them women were to be transferred to a new prison in rural Alabama.
“This transfer would nearly eliminate federal prison beds for women in the Northeastern United States and dramatically disrupt the lives of these female inmates and the young children they often leave behind," Murphy said.
"We understand that the small percentage of women inmates in the federal system means that some may well have to be at a distance from their homes, but of course, given the Bureau’s policies, the goal should be to have them as close as possible to protect against a negative impact on inmates with small children. I look forward to getting some answers from the Bureau of Prisons very soon.”
The Bureau of Prisons announced this summer that after nearly 20 years of housing female inmates, the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury was being converted back to a low-security male facility.
Transfers of female inmates in Danbury to other institutions were scheduled to begin this month. The 1,126 women in the low-security prison were to be moved to a new prison in Aliceville, Ala., and to facilities in other states.
Those moves were slated to be done by late December so the prison could begin the transition to a low-security male facility could begin. The male inmate population was expected to begin to arrive in late January or early February 2014.
The letter sent to the Federal Bureau of Prisons on Aug. 2 was also signed by U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), Bernard Sanders (D-Vt.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Robert P. Casey Jr. (D-Penn.), Angus S. King Jr. (D-Maine), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Edward Markey (D-Mass.).
Read a previous story about the prison's changes from The Daily Voice here.
The prison has become a fixture in popular culture. It is currently featured on the Netflix series called "Orange is the New Black." Read more about it here on The Daily Voice.
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