USA - Judge Timothy J. Kelly

USA - Federal Judge Blocks Transfer of Former Federally Death-Sentenced Prisoners to Supermax Prison

February 11, 2026:

February 11, 2026 - USA. Federal Judge Rebukes DOJ and Blocks Transfer of Former Federally Death-Sentenced Prisoners to Supermax Prison

In an order dated February 11, 2026, U.S. District Court Judge Timothy J. Kelly issued a preliminary injunction temporarily blocking the federal government from transferring many former federally death-sentenced prisoners to the notorious Administrative Maximum Facility in Florence, Colorado, known as “ADX.” Judge Kelly found it “likely” that the government violated the prisoners’ Fifth Amendment due process rights when it deprived them of a “meaningful opportunity to challenge” their transfer designation process, which was characterized as “a sham.” The order will stay in place as the lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on behalf of 21 prisoners, led by plaintiff Rejon Taylor, is pursued in the courts.

“It is likely their redesignations were determined before their process even began, and that — despite their hearings and appeals — they had no meaningful opportunity to challenge them.”

In his order, Judge Kelly, appointed by President Trump, points to evidence presented in the lawsuit that the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Bureau of Prisons (BOP) departed from established policies and procedures to effectuate the prisoners’ transfer. Judge Kelly pointedly notes “a gap between what Defendants say and what Defendants did” (emphasis in original). He adds, “the Constitution requires that whenever the government seeks to deprive a person of a liberty or property interest that the Due Process Clause protects — whether that person is a notorious prisoner or a law-abiding citizen — the process it provides cannot be a sham.”

Judge Kelly notes that “Attorney General Bondi was [] transparent about seeking to punish Plaintiffs by sending them to ADX Florence,” publicly promising “that Plaintiffs will spend the rest of their lives” there. Quoting from the lawsuit, Judge Kelly describes ADX as “physically constructed and operated” to subject inmates to “conditions [that] are more socially isolating than those at any [other] correctional facility.” According to Judge Kelly, the BOP itself recognizes the “harsh conditions” at ADX and BOP regulations governing referrals state that “redesignation to another high security institution should be considered first.”

Judge Kelly cites to numerous conversations between attorneys for the prisoners and BOP attorney Christopher Synsvoll, in which Mr. Synsvoll admitted that referrals were “not based on the BOP’s assessment of the prisoners’ security needs or of institutional resources” but were due to President Trump’s January 20, 2025, Executive Order, and “a related memorandum issued by Attorney General Bondi.” The Executive Order directs the Attorney General to “take all lawful and appropriate action to ensure” that the prisoners are housed “in conditions consistent with the monstrosity of their crimes and the threats they pose.”

Prior to the start of the current administration, BOP officials had already evaluated the commuted prisoners, and none of them were determined appropriate for transfer to ADX. That abruptly changed with the arrival of the new administration. According to Mr. Synsvoll, “BOP committee members had been informed that the President and Attorney General [Bondi]’s office were indicating that everyone needed to be referred to ADX.” Judge Kelly quoted from another instance, cited in the lawsuit, where an official overseeing an administrative hearing, identified as Joseph Brian Wilson “admitted that … he had to do what [Attorney General Bondi] directed him to do.” One prisoner reported that when he asked Mr. Wilson if he would recommend him to ADX no matter what he said to him during the hearing, Mr. Wilson replied “yes.” In light of this evidence, Judge Kelly said, “it strains credulity to believe that subordinate BOP officials carrying out this process felt free to disagree with what had been demanded at the start by officials far senior to them, with authority over their careers and livelihoods.”

“The Court concludes, it is likely that the [redesignation] process provided to Plaintiffs was an empty exercise to approve an outcome that was decided before it even began, thereby contravening their due process rights.”

Judge Kelly agreed that if the prisoners can prove during the course of their pending suit that their redesignations to ADX Florence were “fully decided at the beginning of the process rather than the end” it would amount to a violation of their Fifth Amendment due process rights. He concluded, saying “it is likely that the process provided to Plaintiffs was an empty exercise to approve an outcome that was decided before it even began[.]” He also dismissed the 2 jurisdictional hurdles the government raised, including the government’s assertion of sovereign immunity, which the court said does not bar the constitutional claim raised by the prisoners.

https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/federal-judge-rebukes-doj-and-blocks-transfer-of-former-federally-death-sentenced-prisoners-to-supermax-prison