TRENTON, NJ – A man serving time at FCI Fort Dix for a kidnapping conviction under the District of Columbia Code has been denied early release credits under the First Step Act, after a federal judge ruled Tuesday that his offense is too similar to a federal kidnapping crime to qualify.
Darrell Bracey, the petitioner in the case, claimed that the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) improperly refused to apply time credits that could have advanced his transfer to a residential reentry center. Bracey, convicted under D.C. law for armed kidnapping, argued that as a D.C. inmate held in federal custody, he was entitled to earn credits under the 2018 First Step Act — a law designed to incentivize inmate rehabilitation through participation in programs tied to sentence reductions.
The court disagreed. U.S. District Judge Michael A. Shipp denied Bracey’s habeas petition, concluding that the BOP correctly deemed his D.C. conviction analogous to a disqualifying federal offense. Under the First Step Act, inmates convicted of certain crimes — including kidnapping under federal law — are excluded from earning such credits.
Bracey was convicted under D.C. Code § 22-2101 (now codified as § 22-2001), a statute the judge noted is nearly identical to the federal kidnapping law under 18 U.S.C. § 1201. Both laws target conduct involving the forcible seizure or abduction of another person. Since Bracey’s offense matched the elements of the federal crime, his disqualification under the Act stood.
Even if the conviction hadn’t blocked his eligibility, the court said Bracey’s petition failed on procedural grounds as well. The judge pointed out that Bracey did not first exhaust his administrative remedies with the BOP — a legal prerequisite before filing a habeas petition. According to BOP records, he never submitted a request through the required process, denying the agency an opportunity to address his concerns directly.
The court emphasized that exhaustion is not a formality but a critical step in the federal review process. Without it, courts lack the full record needed to evaluate whether the BOP acted within the law. Judge Shipp found no evidence that exhaustion would have been futile in Bracey’s case and noted the inmate had not demonstrated cause or prejudice for bypassing the process.
The ruling makes clear that while D.C. inmates may now be eligible for First Step Act credits under a 2023 District law, eligibility still depends on whether the offense is analogous to an excluded federal crime — as Bracey’s kidnapping conviction was.
With both substantive and procedural issues undermining his claims, Bracey’s petition was denied in full. No certificate of appealability was issued.
