US judge blocks transfer of former federal death row inmates to maximum-security prison News
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US judge blocks transfer of former federal death row inmates to maximum-security prison

A US federal judge on Wednesday temporarily halted a plan by President Donald Trump’s administration to move 20 former federal death row prisoners to the country’s most restrictive correctional facility. This comes after the judge ruled that the prisoners would likely succeed in their claims of a violation of their Fifth Amendment due process rights.

In a 35-page opinion, Judge Timothy J. Kelly of the US District Court for the District of Columbia granted a preliminary injunction against the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) redesignating the prisoners to the United States Penitentiary, Administrative Maximum Facility in Florence, Colorado. This correctional facility is commonly known as ADX Florence. It is the most secure correctional facility in the country.

According to the court, while the BOP has statutory authority to designate prisoners’ places of confinement, the inmates presented substantial evidence suggesting that their transfers to ADX Florence were effectively predetermined before the administrative process began. Judge Kelly stressed that when the government seeks to deprive a person of a protected liberty interest, “the process it provides cannot be a sham.”

The court further held that placement at ADX Florence imposes significant hardships compared to ordinary high-security confinement, including extreme isolation and sharply limited communication. Because “such a deprivation of constitutional due process amounts to irreparable harm” and the balance of the equities supported relief, the court determined that preliminary injunctive relief was appropriate. Kelly wrote, “At least for now, [the plaintiffs] will remain serving life sentences for their heinous crimes where they are currently imprisoned.”

The plaintiffs are a group of 37 individuals whose death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment by former President Joe Biden in December 2024. After Trump took office, however, he issued an executive order requiring the attorney general to ensure the prisoners were held in a manner consistent with the “monstrosity” of their crimes. US Attorney General Pam Bondi then issued a directive to the BOP, requiring the Department of Justice to take specific action to achieve justice for the victims’ families.

 

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