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Felicity Huffman left the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin on Friday, serving just 11 days of her 14-day sentence, TMZ reported.
That’s also two days earlier than Huffman’s scheduled release date of Sunday, a situation that most likely occurred because the facility doesn’t have staff working on weekends to process inmates’ releases, said former federal inmate Larry Levine, who advises defendants going into federal prison.
[vemba-video id=”us/2019/10/25/felicity-huffman-early-release-college-admission-scandal-mxp-vpx.hln”]
VIDEO: Felicity Huffman released from prison after 11 days
Because of this situation, inmates are released on the Friday before the weekend, said Levine.
It is therefore likely that Huffman, or someone advising her, knew of this situation and made sure to line up her surrender date with a release date that would fall on a weekend, added Levine, founder of Wall Street Prison Consultants.
Huffman “gamed” the system and ended up spending two fewer days in custody, Levine said.
Huffman, 56, was originally sentenced to serve 14 days in federal prison for her role in the nationwide college admissions scandal. The “Desperate Housewives” actress pleaded guilty to paying a $15,000 bribe to William “Rick” Singer to get her oldest daughter’s SAT score fraudulently boosted.
A judge ordered Huffman to surrender by Oct. 25. But Huffman surrendered early, on Oct. 15.
Her time in prison also was cut to 13 days because she got credit for the one day she spent in federal custody after she was arrested in March. That meant that her scheduled release date was Oct. 27, or Sunday.
TMZ reported that the U.S. Bureau of Prisons has a policy that inmates who have a weekend release date are sprung the Friday before. Levine said the policy is in place because of how prisons are staffed on weekends — a situation that benefitted Huffman.
“Her gaming the system by picking her report date is another example of white-collar privilege,” said Levine, who served 10 years in different federal prisons around the country after being convicted on racketeering, securities fraud and narcotics trafficking charges.
Following her release, Huffman is expected to return home and must report to a probation officer within 48 hours, said Holli Coulman, another former federal inmate who works with Levine on advising female defendants going into federal prisons. To complete her sentence, Huffman must still perform 250 hours of community service and be on one year of supervised release.
Huffman was incarcerated in Dublin facility’s minimum-security satellite camp. During her time in Dublin, she was photographed wearing a dark-green prison-issued uniform and meeting her husband William H. Macy and daughter Sophia for a family visit last weekend — four days after her surrender.
Levine and Coulman said earlier this week that Huffman’s family visit was an example of her enjoying a privilege that is not regularly available to other inmates.
They said it is highly unusual for inmates to get approval for visitors so quickly.
“Most women have to wait a month,” added Coulman, explaining that inmates and visitors must go through a procedure that involves filling out forms and mailing them back and forth. Visitors also must undergo background checks before they can visit a federal prison.
“Huffman’s visit was accelerated,” Coulman said. “She may not realize it, but she and her family have gotten special privileges.”
