BOP and DOJ COVID-19 Ineptitude and Dysfunction Will Have to be Addressed by President Biden's Criminal Justice Team

 

DOJ COVID Confusion Won't End Under Biden; Vaccine Rumors Are Only That

 

by Derek Gilna

 

            Two headlines in the last week relating to prisoners caught my eye.   First, AG Barr is hinting that he will resign before the end of Trump's term,  stating that he "has done everything that he wanted to do as AG," and there's no reason to stick around. That would explain Barr's disinterest in enforcing his own  COVID memo encouraging prisoner releases.  

            The second headline concerns the availability of the COVID-19 vaccines for prisoners.   Contrary to rumor (misinformation), don't expect those to find their way into federal prisons anytime soon. When it comes, guards will get it first (Source: AP), prisoners, in late 2021.

            Biden's criminal justice advisors in Congress, including Corey Booker, are well aware of DOJ's ineptitude in its virus response, as shown by this week's House Oversight Committee grilling of the Director.  I wish Biden the best of luck in unraveling the dysfunctional prison bureaucracy and holding it and the US Marshals responsible for flying infected prisoners all over the country. It won't be easy. According to guard union complaints, staff is burning out due to augmentation, illness, and stress:   "We have nurses working in a housing unit.  How do you justify reassigning a nurse?"  If they're in the housing unit, they're not handling sick call or treating COVID patients.

            Biden can be expected to re-task the U.S. Sentencing Commission to review current guidelines, and issuing formal guidance to reduce unreasonable long sentences and promote rehabilitation. This, working with FSA, should also reduce prisoner counts.

            Current infection counts: Ft. Dix, 750+; FPC Duluth, 200+, our of 293' McKean, 75; Ashland, 261, 5 hospitalized, 1 death; Terre Haute, 470; Rochester, 110; Carswell, 80+; Lexington, 5 of 9 units locked, 330 +; McDowell 120, some in hospital, perhaps 4 on ventilators; Pekin, men 80+, women, 120; and Forrest City, 100, with reinfections;

            According to a new study, "Patients from ethnic minority groups are disproportionately affected by Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to explore the relationship between ethnicity and clinical outcomes in COVID-19." Outcomes, "were searched up to 31st August 2020,  for studies reporting COVID-19 data disaggregated by ethnicity. Outcomes were: risk of infection; intensive therapy unit (ITU) admission and death." https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/home.

            "COVID-19 is tied to deadly brain inflammation in some patients....The study found a concerning increase in patients with a rare and sometimes fatal neurological condition called ADEM. COVID-19 may cause dangerous neurological problems, including delirium, brain inflammation, nerve damage or stroke," it said. www.livescience.com.

            To date, only 4% of prosecutors in the U.S. who were involved in wrongful conviction cases tainted by prosecutorial misconduct have faced any kind of personal or professional discipline, according to the National Registry of Exonerations, of the Innocence Project..  And only a handful of these prosecutors faced serious disciplinary action, such as disbarment from the practice of law, as opposed to a brief suspension or “reprimand” by the state bar.

            In  US v Clark, 19-7046, (10th Cir. 11th Cir. 11-17-20), vacated an Indian country sentence for assault, finding that there was an insufficient explanation of the reasons for the imposed sentence. In U.S. v. Senter, 18-11627, (11th Cir. 11-13-20), the court granted a COA to review denial of a 2255, and agreed with defendant that "he no longer qualified as an (ACCA) in light of Johnson..., because his...1998 Alabama conviction for attempted first-degree robbery has no state law elements."

            Let not your heart be troubled.

Federal Legal Center, Derek A. Gilna, JD, MERJ, Director,

113 McHenry Rd. #173, Buffalo Grove, IL   60089, (and Indiana).

dgilna1948@yahoo.com; "Derek Gilna's Criminal Justice Blog."