Federal prison grievances are rarely granted, investigation finds

Less than 2% of federal prison grievances were granted in 2023, while more than three-quarters were rejected for procedural errors or closed for other reasons.

That gatekeeping power comes from the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1996, which requires prisoners to exhaust administrative remedies before filing federal lawsuits over prison conditions. The Bureau of Prisons’ Administrative Remedy Program, set out in 28 CFR Part 542, is the mandatory path for people in federal institutions, contract community corrections centers, and former inmates raising issues that arose during confinement. Prisoners move through the process in good faith, with requests written honestly and straightforwardly, first at the institution, then at the regional office and finally at the Central Office.

Federal data covering nearly 1 million grievance cases dating back to 2000 show the Bureau of Prisons granted just under 7% of grievances in 2000. Almost 40,000 grievances were decided that year.

J.M., a prisoner at a federal penitentiary in California, said a confrontation with a guard on Nov. 2, 2023, over a straw sunhat followed. J.M. said staff could destroy paperwork, claim it was lost, deny him forms or punish him for trying to complain. Officer Sandra Munagay later admitted to assaulting J.M. and pleaded guilty in January to falsifying records about the incident.

Colin Prince, a civil rights attorney and former federal defender representing J.M., said the grievance process gives prison staff a “chokehold over access to the courts.” The Bureau of Prisons could not discuss individual cases or ongoing litigation. Federal data put the federal prison system at about 143,300 people, out of a total U.S. prison population of 1,254,200.