Previous discussion of Lori Loughlin reporting to prison prompted one astute reader to point out I had made some mistakes in the post. I have corrected some items and clarified others. Many thanks to this perceptive reader!
His comments prompted me to read a few more articles and discuss them here. I dive into this detail because it provides insight on the federal prison system.
11/30/20 – Associated Press – Actor Lori Loughlin reports to prison in college scam– Article says the actress reported to the Dublin, California prison on 10/30. Statement from the prosecutor indicated “the parties” agreed she would report early on 10/30. This is about three weeks earlier than 11/19, which was the date the judge had previously ordered.
She is subject to a 14 day quarantine, which is standard protocol from the Bureau of Prisons. That means as of 11/5 she is in day seven of quarantine with another seven days to go.
11/30/20 – USA Today – Lori Loughlin reports to California prison for 2-month sentence in college admissions case – Reporter confirmed with spokesperson at the prison that Ms. Loughlin was in custody on 10/30.
11/4/20 – Us Weekly – Lori Loughlin is a “Wreck” While Serving Time in Prison–
Looks like the celebrity magazines are going to be giving the actress fairly close attention. Anonymous sources say she was strong going to prison and had rallied her support system. Another source reported she was fearful going into prison and dreading the experience. She was worried something would go wrong. Seems like those are perfectly reasonable concerns.
One source, I don’t quite understand whether it’s a third source or the second one, described her as being a “wreck.” That would certainly be understandable.
Article says she had requested to be confined at a federal facility in Victorville, which is closer to the Los Angeles area. A source told the magazine that the Dublin facility had lower infection rates. Dublin is east of San Francisco.
Article also says one source, an “insider”, indicated she hopes to be home for Christmas. A different article I read indicates she hopes to be home for the holidays, which would suggest Christmas and New Year’s.
Let’s ponder that comment a moment. Reporting date of 10/30 with two month sentence would otherwise suggest a release date of 12/30 which is obviously after Christmas and barely before New Years.
I have learned in the federal system inmates are frequently released to home confinement or a halfway house in advance of their official release date. This allows transition back into the community before the end of the sentence.
So, what that expectation indicates is she is hoping for one or two weeks early release to home confinement and therefore could be home in advance of Christmas Day.
11/4/20 – Yahoo! Entertainment – Lori Loughlin is not a “wreck” in prison, despite report– I don’t follow the celebrity magazines in the least, so I don’t know how these things work. On the same day as the Us Weekly report was published saying Lori Loughlin is a “wreck”, another report says that’s an exaggeration. Like I said, I don’t how this works, but it sounds like a battle of the publicists is underway.
Reason I’m mentioning this particular article is not because of any interest in the minutia of gossip, but instead because it provides interesting details on how things work in federal prison.
Article says her quarantine time of 14 days consist of being confined to her cell, presumably with no one else in the cell, although I suppose someone else reporting the same day could be confined to the same cell. Meals are delivered to her in a brown paper bag.
To control the virus, no visitors are allowed at the prison. I’m guessing that is the case across entire federal prison system.
To offset the loss of contact, all inmates have an increased amount of telephone time. Instead of the usual 300 minutes per month, all prisoners are allowed 500 minutes. This is at no charge to the inmates. The phone calls are in 15 minute increments.
That means inmates may have 20 calls per month of 15 minutes duration each.
The daily routine consists of getting up at 5 a.m. followed by a job of some sort, whether it is clerical, food preparation, or perhaps cleaning according to the article. In addition, there is some free time to either exercise, do some crafts, or spend some time in the sports field getting fresh air.
As of 11/5, the Bureau of Prisons website shows release date unknown.