Drafting error stalls inmate release under Trump plan

Published January 25, 2019 5:00am ET



Thousands of prisoners expecting to go home under the First Step Act are stuck behind bars indefinitely due to an apparent drafting error, frustrating families and leaving policy advocates pushing for a White House fix.

The bill, President Trump’s biggest bipartisan policy achievement, passed in December, but a key provision retroactively expanding “good time” credit landed in a section that could delay implementation by seven months.

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