Notable new review and accounting of COVID and federal compassionate release results

Vice News has this effective and thorough new piece bringing together a lot of notable data on federal compassionate release in the COVID era under the full headline "Prisoners Keep Dying of COVID While ‘Compassionate Releases’ Stall in Court: At least 54 federal prisoners have died from COVID-19 after having a compassionate release request denied or left pending."  Though the headline is focused on prisoner deaths, the lengthy article covers a lot of ground is worth reading in full.  Here are excerpts (with links from the original):

Steven Brayfield was almost home. The 63-year-old from Springfield, Missouri, fought over six months for “compassionate release,” arguing in his emergency bid for freedom that he’d be unlikely to survive a coronavirus outbreak in federal prison. In the end, he was proven right.

Brayfield suffered from Type 2 diabetes, kidney problems, and obesity, among other health issues. He first asked his warden for compassionate release in July, when the dangers of COVID-19 in prison were already well documented but before the virus began to wreak havoc inside the minimum-security camp at the U.S. Penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas. He had just under two years left to serve on a non-violent, meth-related drug conviction....

But by Jan. 3, he was running a fever and tested positive for COVID. As he was struggling to breathe, prison staff escorted him to the hospital, where he was handcuffed to the bed. The next day, Brayfield’s judge granted his compassionate release request, reducing his sentence to time served. But his condition worsened and doctors put him on a ventilator. His public defender asked the judge to reverse the ruling, telling the court that if Brayfield died a free man, his family would be unable to afford the medical bills. He hung on until Jan. 19, remaining a federal prisoner until his last gasps for air. “You keep on thinking, my god, he’s so close to coming home,” said Shirley Marler, Brayfield’s 84-year-old mom. “Well, he came home alright, but in a box.”

Brayfield is one of at least 54 federal prisoners to die from COVID-19 after having a compassionate release request denied or delayed without a final resolution, according to data provided to VICE News.  The data, compiled by the University of Iowa’s College of Law’s Federal Criminal Defense Clinic, shows how a deluge of compassionate release requests during the pandemic overwhelmed the recently reformed system, leading to vulnerable people dying behind bars when they were eligible for freedom. 

Additional analysis of over 4,000 cases, based on data compiled by a researcher at Georgetown Law School and shared with VICE News, highlights a lasting legacy of former President Donald Trump: Judges appointed by Republicans grant compassionate releases at lower rates than Democratic appointees. Trump’s prolific stacking of the federal courts, where judges serve for life, will likely shape the way such cases are handled for many years to come. 

From 2020 to mid-January 2021, federal judges granted compassionate release to 2,271 prisoners, according to data provided to VICE News by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts in Washington, D.C. The rulings freed people who might have otherwise contributed to the tragic toll of COVID-19 (225 deaths and counting) inside the federal Bureau of Prisons.

In years past, compassionate release was virtually impossible for federal prisoners to obtain—an option made available only in life-or-death emergencies, at the discretion of prison officials. Between 2013 and 2017, the BOP approved just 6 percent of requests, letting out over 300 people, while 266 others died in prison custody after their requests were denied.

The passage of the First Step Act in 2018 reformed the system, allowing federal prisoners under “extraordinary and compelling” circumstances to petition their sentencing judges directly for compassionate release. Prisoners still have to “exhaust” their options within the BOP, but after 30 days the request goes to the courts. Prosecutors typically argue against the person getting out, and defendants can submit evidence such as medical records or letters of support. But even with the changes, compassionate releases remained rare at first. In 2019, judges granted fewer than 100 total, according to the Administrative Office of the Courts.

The pandemic changed everything. Coronavirus turned federal prisons into death traps, especially low-security institutions with dorm-style housing units. Suddenly the federal courts were flooded with compassionate release requests, with judges receiving more than 10,000 applications in just three months, from last March to May. Those who follow the courts closely have been frustrated by inconsistent applications of the law or lack of leniency by judges, especially ones appointed by Trump and George W. Bush.

A few of many prior related posts:

• "How Compassionate? Political Appointments and District Court Judge Responses to Compassionate Release during COVID-19" 
• Tangible example of continuing big sentence reductions in COVID era thanks to the FIRST STEP Act 
• Spotlighting remarkable (but still cursory) data on "compassionate release" after FIRST STEP Act 
• Back by popular demand, another VERY long list of federal sentence reductions using § 3582(c)(1)(A) (from July 2020 with lots of links to lots of prior rulings)