New Delhi, July 30 -- quietly, through a database update the government declines to contextualize.

April 25, then April 15, then February 23. Now January 24.

What drives these adjustments is a combination of statutory mechanisms the Bureau of Prisons administers but rarely discusses. Federal inmates automatically accumulate good-conduct time, roughly 54 days per year, unless disciplinary sanctions remove it. Additional reductions come through participation in approved prison programs: educational courses, vocational training, and, most significantly, substance abuse treatment. Under the First Step Act, completion of an approved drug or alcohol program can reduce a sentence by up to 12 months. Whether Combs has enrolled in any such progr...