BONUS! NCFCA Policy Debate: Home Confinement (AFF)

Resolved: The United States Federal Government should significantly reform its policies regarding convicted prisoners under federal jurisdiction

Case Summary: In addition to economic stimulus, the 2020 CARES Act included a provision that allowed prisoners with a low risk of recidivism to serve their sentences at home. What those prisoners weren’t told is that they would have to return to prison when the emergency period ended. As a result, prisoners are living in a state of limbo where it’s difficult for them to make any life decision. This case proposes that prisoners currently in home confinement should be allowed to stay there for the remainder of their sentences. Such a move would save millions (home confinement is far cheaper than incarceration) and would reduce recidivism (it has been proven that prisoners who serve time in home confinement are less likely to reoffend, likely because it reduces friction in the reintegration process.