Tom Lakin
The Bureau of Prisons has projected that Tom Lakin will be released from federal prison on Nov. 30, 2013.
U.S. District Judge J. Phil Gilbert sentenced the once prominent Madison County attorney to six years in prison on Oct. 8, after Lakin pleaded guilty to drug charges.
The six year sentence was part of a binding plea agreement negotiated through the U.S. attorney's office.
In exchange for pleading guilty to possessing and distributing cocaine to a person under 21 and maintaining a drug-involved premises, federal prosecutors dropped sex charges that carried a sentence of life in prison.
Lakin is currently "in transit" to a federal institution. If Lakin gets his way, he will serve his sentence at the Bureau of Prison's Federal Prison Camp (FPC) in Yankton, S.D.
During a Sept. 10 hearing, Lakin's lawyer, Scott Rosenblum of St. Louis, reminded Gilbert of a conversation the two had in his chambers back in March, when, according to Rosenblum, Gilbert agreed to recommend that Lakin serve his time at a low security FPC.
According to the BOP, FPCs have dormitory housing, a relatively low staff-to-inmate ratio, and limited or no perimeter fencing and are work- and program-oriented.
Ultimately, the decision where to place Lakin is with BOP.
"It is a nice facility actually," Rosenblum said of Yankton, which is located in southeastern South Dakota, 60 miles northwest of Sioux City, Iowa.
He said Yankton does not have any perimeter walls or bars on the cells and that inmates are free to roam the institution's grounds.
Rosenblum added that it was "not uncommon" for someone convicted on charges similar to Lakin to serve their time at an FPC.
As of Nov. 20, Yankton housed 777 inmates.
Lakin will be allowed visitors from 4:30 p.m. until 9:15 p.m. on Fridays and from 8:15 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Saturdays, Sundays and federal holidays.