Josh Duggar Federal Prison

On Thursday, Decmber 9, 2021, Josh Duggar was convicted of one count receiving child pornography\* and one count of posessing of child pornography\*. He was immediately taken into custody by US Marshals and booked into the Washington County Detention Center. On Wednesday, May 25, 2022, Josh was sentenced to 151 months in prison.

Information on his arrest and subsequent trial can be found on their respective pages.

*Please note that while we understand the term "child pornography" is not the accepted term, it is the current legal term. We used it in this instance as we are citing official court records.*

## Introduction

After being convicted in federal court, defendants are sentenced to serve their time in a federal prison. In the United States, there are 122 such facilities. (There are also contracts out for six additional private facilities, but President Biden signed an executive order to cease this practice) The Bureau of Prisons tries to keep inmates at facilities within 500 miles of their home. There are over a dozen such facilities encompassing eight states within this distance of Fayetteville, Arkansas.

## The Facilities

FCI Texarkana in Texarkana, Texas (256 miles)

FCI El Reno in El Reno, Oklahoma (264 miles)

USP Leavenworth in Leavenworth, Kansas (274 miles) - all visitation is currently suspended

FCC Forrest City (low, medium) in Forrest City, Arkansas (285 miles)

FCI Memphis in Memphis, Tennessee (317 miles)

FCI Seagoville in Seagoville, Texas (356 miles)

FMC Fort Worth in Fort Worth, Texas (373 miles) - all visitation is currently suspended

FMC Carswell in Fort Worth, Texas (374 miles) - all visitation is currently suspended

FCC Yazoo City (Low, Medium, High) in Yazoo City, Mississippi (407 miles)

FCI Greenville in Greenville, Illinois (408 miles) - all visitation is currently suspended

USP Marion in Marion, Illinois (449 miles)

FCC Pollock (medium, high) in Pollock, Louisiana (450 miles) - all visitation is currently suspended

FCC Oakdale (low, medium) in Oakdale, Louisiana (492 miles)

## Life in a Federal Prison

Life in federal prison, much like life in a regular prison, starts with a strip search. Inmates are issued a set of clothes, photographed, finger printed, and issued an ID card. They are then interviewed to determine where they will be housed and given a set of sheets, a blanket, a towel, shoes, and hygiene products. From there, an inmate's life, and what they are able to do with their time, varies greatly depending on what level of security they require.

While some inmates are placed in protective custody due to events after their arrival, some choose to go into protective custody voluntarily. This is commonly the case with inmates who have been convicted of sexual offenses, especially against children. While in protective custody, inmates are generally locked in their cells for 23 hours a day and unable to participate in prison activities.

## Types of Federal Prisons

There are five different levels of security in the federal prison system. Each level offers different accommodations and therefore imposes different rules and schedules. However all levels have a wake up time of 6 am with breakfast at 7:30 am.

### Minimum Security

FCP (federal prison camps) offer dormitory style housing and have little to no fencing around the facility itself. Inmates are not locked in cells or rooms and generally are able to move around as they please throughout the facility. They are offered work programs where inmates manufacture such things as road signs, clothing, furniture through Unicor. Any inmate with a documented history violence of sex crimes within the last ten years is not eligable to be housed in a minimum security facility.

### Low Security

FCI (federal correctional institutions) offer dormitory housing as well as cubicle housing and have a double layer of fencing around the facility. As with minimum security facilities, inmates are not locked in their rooms and are able to move around the facility. They also offer work programs through Unicor as well as educational opportunities.

### Medium Security

FCI, which can include some USP (United States penitentiaries), offer cell-type housing and have a double layer of fencing around the facility in addition to electronic detection systems. At this level, and subsequent higher levels, inmates are locked in their cells at night and any time they are on lockdown. They offer work programs as well as treatment programs and even educational opportunities. Common areas can include table games and other sports for the inmates to enjoy.

### High Security

USP offer cell type housing with, both single and multiple inmate occupied, and have very secured perimeters around the facility, which can include walls in addition to reinforced fences and even gun towers. Inmates are closely monitored throughout the day and are often on lockdown.

### Complexes

FCC (federal correctional complexes) have more than one facility on campus, offering multiple levels of security in the same location, albeit in different, unconnected buildings.

### Administrative

There are also administrative facilities. They exist for specific purposes, such as housing inmates who have not yet gone to trial, treating inmates who have chronic or serious medical problems, or confining inmates who are extremely dangerous/violent or prone to escaping. They are also able to hold inmates of any security level, meaning anyone can be sent there.

## Visitation

Before visiting someone in federal prison, one must be approved by the Bureau of Prisons. To be put on the list, the inmate must first fill out a form for each person and then mail the forms to said person, who must fill out their portion of the forms and mail everything back to the BOP. Background checks will be conducted and the inmate, not the potential visitors, will be informed of the decision. While most anyone is able to be put on the list, minor children under the age of 16 must have parental approval.

Visitation hours are Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays; many facilities also offer weekday visits. Inmates are guaranteed, by law, to have four hours of visitation time a month.Most facilities are able to offer more time, however they are also able to restrict time to prevent overcrowding. It should be noted that visitation is still a privilege and can be taken away.

While hugs and kisses are permitted at the start and end of visits, conjugal visits are not allowed in federal prisons.

## References

1. ↑ https://twitter.com/samanthaboyd98/status/1468982283008937989?s=20
2. ↑ https://www.nwahomepage.com/josh-duggar-trial/josh-duggar-trial-ends-the-conclusion-and-the-guilty-verdict/
3. ↑ https://twitter.com/AnnaDarlingTV/status/1529547107916455936
4. ↑ https://www.bop.gov/locations/
5. ↑ https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/26/executive-order-reforming-our-incarceration-system-to-eliminate-the-use-of-privately-operated-criminal-detention-facilities/
6. ↑ https://www.bop.gov/inmates/custody\_and\_care/designations.jsp
7. ↑ https://prisonerresource.com/prison-life/first-day-in-prison/
8. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protective\_custody
9. ↑ https://www.prisonfellowship.org/resources/training-resources/in-prison/faq-protective-custody/#
10. ↑ https://www.bop.gov/about/facilities/federal\_prisons.jsp
11. ↑ https://www.federalprisontime.com/federal-prison-security-levels
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 https://www.bop.gov/inmates/visiting.jsp