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Hyde-Smith Cosponsored Bipartisan Measure to Crack Down on Contraband in Federal Prisons
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) today expressed her hope Congress will complete work on Senate-passed bipartisan legislation she cosponsored to crack down on contraband and organized crime in federal prisons.
The Senate recently approved and referred the bipartisan Lieutenant Osvaldo Albarati Stopping Prison Contraband Act (S.5284) to the House of Representatives. It would upgrade the charge of smuggling a contraband cellphone into a federal prison from a misdemeanor offense to a felony crime as a means of cracking down on the smuggling of contraband cellphones into federal prisons.
“Cell phones smuggled into prisons as contraband create a threat to everyone – including other prisoners, outside civilians, and especially those who are responsible for the prison’s safety. I am excited to see the passage of this important bill that will allow for more appropriate punishments for this dangerous felony offense,” said Hyde-Smith, who also introduced her own prison contraband bill earlier this year.
The penalty in Mississippi for introducing or possessing contraband cell phones in state prison is punishable by up to a 15-year prison term. Current federal law caps punishment for this same offense in federal prisons at no more than one year. S.5284 would change the penalty to be punishable by up to five years in prison.
S.5284 is named in honor of Lt. Osvaldo Albarati, the Bureau of Prisons correctional officer who was murdered in 2013 after completing his shift at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. Five men who later pleaded guilty to the crime admitted they targeted Albarati as a direct result of continuous seizures of contraband, including cell phones. The inmate who placed the hit on Albarati did so using a contraband cell phone.
“My family and I are extremely pleased with S.5284 passing the Senate. We look forward to continued support from the House as this bill will assist in protecting families in the future from experiencing what my family has had to endure,” said Helen Albarati, widow of Lt. Albarati.
S.5284 was introduced by U.S. Senators Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and also cosponsored by U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas). Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz issued a statement applauding Senate passage of the bill and encouraging House action on the measure.
In February, Hyde-Smith introduced the END CELLS (Eliminate Non-approved Devices and Contraband Electronics Limiting Links to Society) Act (S.3780), which would make it unlawful for anyone to provide or attempt to provide a federal, state or local prisoner with a wireless communications device and further make it unlawful for a prisoner to possess such a device while incarcerated. The Hyde-Smith legislation would also impose additional criminal and civil penalties of up to $50,000 for each violation involving prisoners using contraband cell phones and for those individuals who provide the smuggled devices.
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