WASHINGTON — Democrats expressed concern over the health and safety of inmates in federal prisons during the COVID-19 pandemic, while Republicans questioned whether the release of some inmates to home confinement poses a public safety risk during a hearing of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary.
At least 68 inmates have died while in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) since the start of the U.S. COVID-19 pandemic, and infection rates are 6.6 times higher than the general population, noted Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) during the Tuesday hearing.
Additionally, most of those who died had known pre-existing conditions and several had only a few months until their release, he said. Andrea Circle Bear is an example of an inmate whose death was “preventable,” he said.
Circle Bear was 8 months pregnant and contracted the novel coronavirus while in custody. She gave birth while on a ventilator and died almost a month later from COVID-19 at the Federal Medical Center, Carswell in Fort Worth, Texas.
“She was never able to hold her baby in her arms,” Durbin said.
Durbin, along with Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), introduced a bill calling for an independent ombudsman to oversee federal detention facilities.
During the hearing, Michael Carvajal, director of BOP, defended its “robust” response plan to the pandemic, nothing that two-thirds of positive cases are located in only seven of 122 institutions.
Ranking committee member Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), asked what changes have been made in prisons to address COVID-19.
Jeffery Allen, MD, BOP medical director, explained that new knowledge about the virus led to new protocols, such as urging the use of face coverings within 24 hours of the CDC recommendations.
With regard to testing, facilities initially tested only those who were symptomatic. But in April, following new evidence of how the virus spreads, institutions began testing some asymptomatic individuals for “compelling” public health reasons.
The current “priority system” for testing in prisons includes symptomatic patients; “exposed” patients; new inmates; inmates who go into the community or those coming back from the community; and at release.
When asked about BOP staff, Allen stated that the bureau does not test employees as doing so would limit the medical staff’s ability to provide healthcare to the inmates. Staff are tested through local and state health departments and clinics for frontline workers, he explained.
While prisons aren’t designed for social distancing, Carvajal said institutions had adapted by converting gyms into housing spaces or setting up infirmaries in tents.
Durbin asked for specifics on Circle Bear’s case. Allen said she was found to be “symptomatic” after beginning her quarantine period. She underwent an emergency cesarean section and was later placed on a ventilator. Allen said she was treated “aggressively” for COVID-19, but the interventions were unsuccessful.
Asked if policy changes had been enacted to prevent such an event from happening again, Carvajal said that, after a close review, BOP identified inmates who were pregnant. Five were placed in home confinement; 24 were transferred to the Mother and Infants Nurturing Together program (MINT); and three were placed in a residential parenting program through a partnership with Washington state. The “six or so” women who remain in custody either have a mental illness or sex offense charges and are “inappropriate” to be transferred, he said.
Ten weeks ago, Durbin and colleagues urged Carvajal and Attorney General William Barr to offer early release or home confinement for vulnerable inmates in a letter.
But only 2% of the the prison population has been transferred into home confinement so far, he noted. Since the letter was sent, around 5,200 inmates, and over 600 staff, have tested positive for coronavirus, Durbin said.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) suggested that placing inmates into home confinement could jeopardize public safety.
Carvajal acknowledged that inmates who have been convicted were put in prison for a reason and that he respects that judicial process, adding that anyone with a violence or sex-related or terrorism charge is not eligible for early release.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said he worried that there may not be adequate coordination or resources to monitor those in home confinement.
Carvajal countered that there is sufficient coordination with the community about releases, and plans have been put in place to monitor inmates with GPS devices, as well as through “check-ins” by phone and by FaceTime.
Hawley also asked how many people who had been granted “early release” had been rearrested. Carvajal said he didn’t have that information on hand. Hawley asked Carvajal to submit both the number of rearrests for violent crimes and for firearms charges.
Durbin and other senators questioned Carvajal on the use of the Prisoner Assessment Tool Targeting Estimated Risk and Need (PATTERN) algorithm. PATTERN assess recidivism risk, helping to determine which inmates should be released to home confinement.
Under PATTERN, 7% of incarcerated black men were classified as “minimum risk” versus 30% of white men in prison.
Carvajal said that PATTERN is a Department of Justice “scientifically validated tool,” but that it has been adjusted to “remove any perceived biases” for people of color after feedback from stakeholders, and an independent review board.
Source: MedicalNewsToday.com
