Muddled Election Results, Probability of Divided Government
Boosts Justice Reform
by Derek Gilna
Although
Joe Biden appears to have won the Presidency based upon current projections,
pending several legal challenges, a Biden presidency would most certainly
advance criminal justice reform in many ways. Progressive platforms call for
the abolishment of private prisons and mandatory minimums, liberalizing
marijuana laws (perhaps retroactively)
, and reining in prosecutorial overreach.
Of course this requires some Congressional approval, but there will be
no step backwards. Unfortunately, the prospect of further systemic reform of
the FBI and DOJ, and its ugly stepsister, the federal prison system, is
uncertain, I still expect clemencies to ramp up shortly.
The latter
is of prime significance, given the upward spike in reinfections of prisoners
already in a fragile state from years of incarceration and indifferent medical
care. On that front, there is only very bad news. Leading the way is Ft.
Dix, which has tallied at least one
new death (or more), well over 500 infections, and no apparent plan to stem the
tide, except a misguided attempt to infect everyone, contrary to CDC guidelines.
Waseca is
also yet another laboratory for forced infections, with well over 75% of all
purposefully infected, with at least one likely death, hard to verify since DOJ
has taken advantage of election mania to bury the bad news. Duluth
has over 20 cases, and FMC Rochester has
over 100 cases and many staff; FMC Springfield,
has 160 cases. Lompoc has many
reinfections, as has Forrest City.
Unfortunately, at Bryan, Texas
(and other locations), staff have begun threatening "shots" for those
sharing the truth with friends, family, and advocates. Unjustified blocking of emails to advocates,
lawyers, and even the ACLU is all part of the bold "nothing to see
here" strategy. DOJ continues to underreport case totals, and suppress information
on new deaths.
On a more
positive note, courts continue to grant compassionate releases (CR) in
virtually every jurisdiction, including repeat filings when new infections
began to peak. In United States
v. Baylor, 2020 WL 5970679, at *1 (D.D.C. Oct. 8, 2020), the court released an Alderson prisoner
suffering from chronic kidney disease and hypertension, whose initial petition
was denied because there were no cases at the time of her initial filing. The
CDC has not only expanded the categories qualifying for relief, but also the
risk to vulnerable individuals of reinfections, when follow up care is
nonexistent.
The court
granted CR in United States
v. Sain, 2020 WL 5906167, at *1 (E.D. Mich.
Oct. 6, 2020) to a prisoner with chronic kidney disease, and asthma, and
provided this interesting quote when the government objected to the
release: "The government asks the
Court to view Sain in the same light as if it was 2007. But Sain has not been
in a time bubble for nearly 13 years, and Pepper v. United States, 562
U.S. 476, 490-93 (2011), allows the Court to consider post-sentencing rehabilitation
efforts in re-sentencing. (He) has already served ....13 years in prison – a
substantial punishment...this amounts to over 73 percent of his sentence...longer
than...his co-conspirator’s sentences."
Be not
afraid and let not your heart be troubled.
Federal Legal Center, Inc., Derek A. Gilna, JD, MRJ,
Director
113 McHenry Rd. #173 Buffalo
Grove, IL
60089 (And Indiana)
dgilna1948@yahoo.com,
blogging at "Derek Gilna's Criminal Justice Blog."
