Compassionate Release
Covid-19 and the Incarcerated
It cannot reasonably be disputed that due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, we are in extraordinary times. COVID-19 presents a clear and present danger to every person in our society for reasons that need no elaboration. Fatality rates from COVID-19 increase with age and underlying health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, diabetes, and immune compromise. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends preventative measures to decrease transmission such as physical distancing, mask wearing, and additional hand washing. Unable to enact these simple preventative measures, imprisoned individuals are among the most vulnerable to serious illness and death from contracting COVID-19.
Prisons are tinderboxes for infections. Predictably, as COVID-19 spread throughout the United States it circulated through jails and correctional facilities even faster. As of August 13, 2020, the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) reported 1,296 federal inmates and 571 BOP staff currently diagnosed with the virus, as well as 112 inmate deaths and 1 BOP staff death. More than 9,800 inmates and 817 staff have tested positive and recovered since March 2020. These numbers are staggering, and yet represent a vast underestimation of the true number of cases in federal prisons. The reality is that with widespread testing, the reported infection and death rates would be much higher.
The dangers which COVID-19 presents to incarcerated individuals in particular are, at this point, blatantly obvious. For example, the outbreak at San Quentin Prison, which had not reported any inmate cases through May but where a third of the population was infected by July presents one devastating illustration. See NPR, COVID-19 Outbreak Devastates California's San Quentin Prison (July 4, 2020) ("More than one third of inmates at California's overcrowded San Quentin prison have tested positive for COVID-19, in what some are calling the state's biggest prison health catastrophe in history."). This devastating reality begs the question of the legal community: what can we do to help the most vulnerable clients currently confined within the BOP? The best answer may be to file for compassionate release.
Given the crowded nature of detention centers and the inability of high-risk inmates to protect themselves from the risk of contracting COVID-19, numerous federal courts have ordered the compassionate release of high-risk inmates serving federal sentences. Courts have explicitly recognized that "[t]he danger of COVID-19 to high-risk individuals who are imprisoned is likely much greater than to those who are free to take their own protective measures." United States v. Esparza, No. 1:07-CR-00294-BLW, 2020 WL 1696084, at 2 (D. Idaho Apr. 7, 2020).
Ripeness
As a general rule, "a federal court 'may not modify a term of imprisonment once it has been imposed.'" United States v. Alam, 960 F.3d 831, 832 (6th Cir. 2020) (quoting 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)). "But that rule comes with a few exceptions, one of which permits compassionate release." Id. A request for compassionate release may come through a motion in federal court filed by the Director of the BOP or it may come through a motion filed by the inmate after he has 'fully exhausted all administrative rights to appeal a failure of the Bureau of Prisons to bring a motion on the prisoner’s behalf' or after 'the lapse of 30 days from the receipt of such a request by the warden of the prisoner's facility, whichever is earlier.'" Id. (quoting 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)).
Policy
The Sentencing Commission's policy statement addressing reduction of sentences under § 3582(c)(1)(A) asserts in relevant part that a court may reduce a defendant's term of imprisonment after considering § 3553(a) factors if it finds that: (1) "extraordinary and compelling reasons warrant the reduction;" (2) "the defendant is not a danger to the safety of any other person or to the community, as provided in 18 U.S.C. § 3142(g);" and (3) "the reduction is consistent with this policy statement." USSG § 1B1.13 ("Statement"). The Statement includes an application note that defines "extraordinary and compelling reasons" as (1) medical conditions which diminish the ability of the defendant to provide self-care in prison and from which he or she is not expected to recover, (2) age-related deterioration, (3) family circumstances, and (4) other extraordinary and compelling reasons that exist either separately or in combination with the previously described categories. Id.
2nd-Chair Can Help
The attorneys at 2nd Chair compiled a comprehensive database of federal cases in which the court granted compassionate release based solely on the confluence of a client’s medical condition and the risk of contracting COVID-19. Many of these cases involve inmates suffering from common conditions such as obesity, hypertension, diabetes, asthma, and other comorbidities. Motions for compassionate release have been granted regardless of whether the inmate has served 75% of his or her sentence.
If you are in need of help cultivating a comprehensive and persuasive motion for compassionate release, 2nd Chair can help in numerous ways, from analyzing your case in comparison to those cases in our database to drafting a thorough motion complete with collection and inclusion of the collateral information sources persuasive to the court: medical records, disciplinary files, release plans, and much more.
