Name: U.S. Judge backs prison inmates in Danbury on COVID-19 suit, orders warden to move fast on requests for release
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U.S. Judge backs prison inmates in Danbury on COVID-19 suit, orders warden to move fast on requests for release

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AdvertisementBy Hartford CourantMay 13, 2020 at 8:27 pmA federal court gave a victory Tuesday night to about 1,000 inmates at the federal prison in Danbury who charged in a class action suit late last month that they are being confined in unconstitutionally dangerous conditions because authorities have failed to release prisoners to home confinement and take other steps to stem the spread of the coronavirus in the institution.U.S. District Judge Michael Shea issued an order that gives the prison administration just days to identify inmates with health conditions that place them at risk for COVID-19 complications and to begin aggressively evaluating requests by prisoners for transfer to home confinement or compassionate release.AdvertisementIn his 74-page order, Shea refers to the “apparent failure” of the Danbury administration to carry out an April 3 memo by U.S. Attorney General William Barr ordering the administration at Danbury and other prisons to “maximize” emergency authority granted by Congress to release inmates to home confinement.In the memo, Barr referred specifically to the Danbury prison and two others elsewhere in the country particularly hard hit by the virus. He expanded the number of inmates eligible for release to home confinement and noted “the speed with which the virus has spread through the general public,” the U.S. Bureau of Prisons’ “profound obligation to protect the health and safety of all inmates,” and the fact that “time is of the essence.”AdvertisementIn their suit, the Danbury inmates — men and woman confined at three facilities within the larger, low-security institution — complained that the local administration was intentionally dragging its feet on compliance with Barr’s memo and Shea endorsed the complaint in his decision. The inmates argued — and Shea agreed — that prisoner releases or transfers are necessary to decrease congestion and permit adequate social distancing within the institution.Shea gave the Danbury administration about 13 days to provide him with a list of inmates eligible for transfer to home release and those who are not. In the case of those denied release, Shea ordered the prison to provide explanations.“Accordingly, I grant in part the inmates’ motion for a temporary restraining order and issue an order that requires the Warden at FCI Danbury to adopt a process for evaluating inmates with COVID-19 risk factors for home confinement and other forms of release that is both far more accelerated and more clearly focused on the critical issues of inmate and public safety than the current process,” Shea wrote.Shea did not rule on the suit’s most significant demands — the mass transfer of inmates to other institutions or home confinement and appointment of a special master to enforce social distancing and other virus mitigation measures in the crowded, low-security institution. But he ordered an expedited hearing schedule to take up the questions.During a hearing last week, lawyers for the Bureau of Prisons argued that the staff at Danbury is working diligently to identify inmates for release, that the inmates were exaggerating the extent of the problem and that the COVID-19 outbreak was under control.The inmates claimed that, as of April 15, at least 44 prisoners and 39 staff members have COVID-19 or have tested positive. One inmate had died and at least two female prisoners had been hospitalized with severe symptoms. The suit claimed COVID-19 infections at Danbury were in excess of 2.8% of the inmate population — among the highest concentrations of any federal prison.The prison lawyers claimed a week ago that positive COVID-19 diagnoses at the prison had dropped to five. They also denied inmate claims that staff at Danbury were low-balling infection rates by intentionally failing to carry out proper and adequate testing. Advertisement

AdvertisementBy Hartford CourantMay 13, 2020 at 8:27 pmA federal court gave a victory Tuesday night to about 1,000 inmates at the federal prison in Danbury who charged in a class action suit late last month that they are being confined in unconstitutionally dangerous conditions because authorities have failed to release prisoners to home confinement and take other steps to stem the spread of the coronavirus in the institution.U.S. District Judge Michael Shea issued an order that gives the prison administration just days to identify inmates with health conditions that place them at risk for...

U.S. Judge backs prison inmates in Danbury on COVID-19 suit, orders warden to move fast on requests for release

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