731
Purpose of the Prisoner Transfer Program
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The International Prisoner Transfer Program began in 1977 when the
Federal Government negotiated the first in a series of treaties to permit
the
transfer of prisoners from the countries in which they had been convicted to
their home countries. Over thirty countries and nationalities are now
parties
to prisoner transfer treaties with the United States (see this Manual at 740 for a list of participating
countries).
The treaties and the implementing legislation are intended to relieve the
special
hardships that fall upon offenders incarcerated in foreign countries, far
from
home (including United States citizens imprisoned abroad), and are also
intended
to facilitate the rehabilitation of these offenders. Additionally, the
treaties
strive to relieve the diplomatic and law enforcement tensions that may arise
between nations when large numbers of one country's nationals are
incarcerated
in another country's prisons. Although most inmates who are transferred out
of
the United States under these treaties are Federal prisoners, some States
also
participate in the International Prisoner Transfer Program.
Prisoner transfers under the various treaties work both ways, and
are
available to United States citizens incarcerated abroad as well as to
foreign
nationals incarcerated in the United States. Because only the latter type
of
transfer involves the participation of the United States Attorneys' Offices,
the
focus of this Chapter is on the handling of requests to transfer prisoners
from
the United States to foreign countries. It should be noted that one of the
reasons the United States entered into the various prisoner transfer
treaties was
to enable it to bring back American prisoners incarcerated abroad, often
under
particularly harsh conditions. For this reason, and to further diplomatic
relations with other countries participating in the International Prisoner
Transfer Program, it is important that the United States meet its
obligations as
established under the various prisoner transfer treaties.
[cited in USAM 9-35.010] | |