As DELTA Variant Spreads, BOP Medical System Still Not Capable of Protecting and treating Prisoners

 

COVID Delta Variant Numbers Jump, First Cases Reported in Federal Prisons;  CARES Likely to Continue; Federal Marijuana Reform Legislation Proposed

 

by Derek Gilna

 

            The number of new Delta-variant coronavirus cases is increasing in every state, setting off a growing sense of concern from health officials who are warning that the pandemic in the United States is far from over, and several federal prisons are reporting cases. Unfortunately, I expect DOJ to once again undercount active cases, and it is my opinion that we are back to where we were in March of 2020. There is continued serious risk to those federal prisoners who have no access to follow-up care which is limited by the low numbers of qualified medical professionals in the short-staffed and underfunded federal prison system.

            The risk is much greater in the South, which holds the lowest number of vaccinated people. Nationwide, fewer than 50% of federal prison staff have been vaccinated, and in the South that number is even lower.  Confirmed cases have occurred in Texas, Kentucky, and West Virginia facilities, and California is considered to also be at risk.

            The U.S. is averaging more than 23,000 new cases a day, double the seven-day average of around 11,300 cases three weeks ago, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University. On 17 of the past 18 days, the seven-day case average was higher than the 14-day average, also suggesting cases have been rising nationally.

             Hot spots have emerged in recent weeks in parts of Missouri, Arkansas and Nevada, among other states, leaving hospital workers strained as they care for an influx of coronavirus patients and hospitalizations are on the rise. Intensive care beds in hospitals have become scarce in parts of Missouri, where officials in Springfield on Wednesday asked for an alternative care site. In Mississippi, where cases are up 70% over the past two weeks, health officials have urged older adults to avoid large indoor gatherings even if they have been vaccinated.  www.yahoo.com, www.nytimes.com, 7-16-21.

            “This will definitely be a surge,” said Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. “It won’t be as big as what happened in January. But we still have 100 million people in the United States who are susceptible to COVID-19.” The majority view of scientific research is that "properly vaccinated" individuals might still contract the new Delta variant, but have less severe symptoms.

            "Long Covid," which affects thousands in federal prison, is still a concern. More long Covid-19 patients are pushing to investigate what they believe is fueling some of their debilitating long-term symptoms: dormant viruses that have been reactivated by the coronavirus. An estimated 10% to 30% of all Covid-19 patients suffer from symptoms weeks and months after first getting the illness, including many young, previously healthy people whose initial Covid-19 cases were mild. Symptoms can include brain fog, fatigue, shortness of breath, racing heart beat and an inability to tolerate physical or mental exertion. Yet scientists still know very little about the causes of the condition, and have even fewer treatments to offer. www.wsj.com. In other words, if you entered prison with pre-existing conditions, you are more likely to suffer from this condition. symptoms.

            In June, a study published in the medical journal Pathogens suggested a possible association between Epstein-Barr reactivations (an often undiagnosed immune disorder)  and long Covid-19. In a set of 30 long Covid-19 patients, about 67% were positive for EBV reactivation, researchers found. That compared with about 10% of the control group, who had contracted Covid-19 but didn’t experience long-term symptoms. The researchers tested for reactivation based on the levels of two antibodies they say are associated with active or reactivated EBV infection. www.mdpi.com.

            Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's new federal marijuana reform bill, the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act.  The full text of this highly-anticipated bill draft runs 163 pages and covers all sorts of reform and regulatory issues related of federal marijuana law and policy .   Please note that there is a dedicated section (sec. 311) devoted to "RESENTENCING AND EXPUNGEMENT." More on this soon.

In the circuits: In US v. Sarchett, 20-2517, (8th Cir., July 12, 2021, the 8th Circuit reversed defendant's sentence in a case where defendant and the government entered into a plea agreement in which he stipulated that he had sold methamphetamine to a confidential informant for thirty dollars. The court agreed with defendant that the district court miscalculated his Sentencing Guidelines range when it found him responsible for drugs to which he had no connection. The district court committed procedural error when it found a connection between defendant and the materials found in his girlfriend's home and car. The court remanded for resentencing.           In US v Arrington, 19-3086, ( DC Cir. July 13, 2021, Arrington was convicted of assaulting a federal officer with a dangerous weapon and of unlawfully possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. The judge sentenced Arrington to 240 months. His sentencing range involved a higher base offense level for the unlawful possession of a firearm because he “had at least two prior felony convictions of either a crime of violence,” U.S.S.G. 2K2.1(a)(2); he also received an enhancement as “a career offender” because he had “at least two prior felony convictions of either a crime of violence,” U.S.S.G. 4B1.1. The judge applied the “residual clause” in the Guidelines' definition of "crime of violence."         In 2003, Arrington was denied post-conviction relief under 28 U.S.C. 2255. The Supreme Court rendered the Guidelines advisory while Arrington’s first petition was pending. In 2015, the Court held (Johnson) that the Armed Career Criminal Act’s “residual clause” was unconstitutionally vague. In 2016, the Supreme Court held that “Johnson announced a substantive rule that has retroactive effect in cases on collateral review.” Within a year of Johnson, Arrington sought leave to file a successive section 2255 motion challenging his sentence in light of Johnson ,but  the district court denied his motion as untimely. The D.C. Circuit reversed. The Johnson decision recognized a person’s right not to have his sentence dictated by the unconstitutionally vague language contained in a mandatory residual clause identical to that in the Guidelines.         Fear not and let not your heart be troubled. Federal Legal Center, Derek A. Gilna JD (De Paul Law, 1975), and MARJ (Vermont Law, 2020), Director,   113 McHenry Rd. #173, Buffalo Grove, IL, and Indiana, dgilna1948@yahoo.com, for English-language newsletters and questions in English and Spanish, (dagilna1948@yahoo.com for emergency use only); federallc_esp@yahoo.com, Spanish language newsletter only.   Blogging at "Derek Gilna's Federal Criminal Justice Blog."