Legal News

Kent to Do Time in Wilds of Massachusetts

By Ashby Jones

An astute editor here asked us recently about the prison term of convicted Texas federal judge Samuel Kent. (Kent, as loyal LBers know, pleaded guilty to obstructing justice for lying to a judical panel about his repeated sexual molestation of two former female employees. He was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison.) Would the Bureau of Prisons — the agency charged with the placement of federal prisoners — worry about the fact that Kent, as a federal judge, may have convicted and/or sentenced some of his future housemates? If so, how would the BoP deal with it?

Today, we have some answers — sort of. For starters, when we called the BoP to inquire on the topic, a spokeswoman for the Federal Bureau of Prisons declined to discuss what sorts of precautions are taken for inmate judges. But she said that it’s not automatic that a former judge would be segregated from the general inmate population. “We look at things on a case by case basis,” she said. “We do confine many, many law enforcement officers and officers of the court.”

That said, it was revealed on Thursday that Kent will do his time in Massachusetts, far from Galveston, Texas, where he spent his years on the bench. Chances are less likely, it seems, that he’ll have run-ins with past acquaintances while serving time up in Red Sox Nation.

Kent has been ordered to report by 2 p.m. on Monday to the Devens Federal Medical Center in Ayer, Mass., about 40 miles west of Boston. Click here for the Houston Chronicle report. According to the Chron, a federal judge has not gone to prison since 1991.

The prison — known specifically as the Federal Medical Center at Devens — specializes in care for felons with medical or mental health issues. It is an administrative facility and houses about 1,300 men who range in status from minimum security to maximum security. It also has facilities for inmates requiring long-term medical or mental health care, which Kent requested. Kent has requested treatment for alcohol abuse. Kent will likely be in the minimum security section.

For those inclined to see the glass half full, there’s this: According to Alan Ellis’s “Federal Prison Guidebook” on Devens:

The FMC and camp recreation department offer a variety of indoor and outdoor recreational activities that range from individualized hobbycraft programs to intramural team sports. The Inmate Recreational Yard and Activity Center includes a multi-purpose room, outdoor recreation yard, and an indoor inmate activity center. The indoor activity center is located on the recreation yard and is intended for activities such as basketball, soccer and floor hockey. A music practice room is also available.

So he’s got that going for him, which is nice.

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on June 12, 2009 (boomark / email).