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June 11, 2021
Another dive into the ugly BOP realities of federal compassionate release during the pandemic
The Marshall Project has this new piece on federal compassionate release with a full title that captures its essential themes: "31,000 Prisoners Sought Compassionate Release During COVID-19. The Bureau of Prisons Approved 36. As the pandemic worsened inside federal prisons, officials granted fewer releases." Here are excerpts (with links from the original):
Tens of thousands of federal prisoners applied for compassionate release after the virus began sweeping through lockups. But new Bureau of Prisons data shows officials approved fewer of those applications during the pandemic than they did the year before. While the BOP director greenlit 55 such requests in 2019, a new director who took over in early 2020 approved only 36 requests in the 13 months since the pandemic took hold in March 2020. The downturn in approvals came even as the number of people seeking compassionate release skyrocketed from 1,735 in 2019 to nearly 31,000 after the virus hit, according to the new figures.
Federal judges have stepped in to release thousands of people in the face of BOP inaction. And the bureau continues to face intense scrutiny and several lawsuits over its handling of COVID-19. Since the first reported case last spring, more than 49,000 federal prisoners have fallen ill and 256 have died, according to corrections data tracked by The Marshall Project. Thirty-five of those who died were waiting for a decision on their release requests....
People in federal prisons seeking release during the pandemic have two main ways to get out early. One is home confinement, which allows low-risk prisoners to finish their sentences at home or in a halfway house. They’re still considered in custody, and the decision to let them out is entirely up to the Bureau of Prisons. As COVID shutdowns began last March, Congress expanded the eligibility criteria and then-Attorney General Bill Barr ordered prison officials to let more people go. Since then, more than 23,700 people have been sent to home confinement — though several thousand of them may have to return to prison once the pandemic ends.
The other way to get out early is through compassionate release. If a warden endorses a prisoner’s request, the case goes to BOP’s central office, which usually rejects it. But if a warden denies a request or 30 days pass with no response, then the incarcerated person can ask a judge to reduce the sentence to time served. The new data showed 3,221 people have been let out on compassionate release since the start of the pandemic — but 99% of those releases were granted by judges over the bureau’s objections.
Last fall, The Marshall Project published data showing that the Bureau of Prisons rejected or ignored more than 98% of compassionate release requests during the first three months of the pandemic. Citing that reporting, federal lawmakers in December wrote to the agency to demand more data on both compassionate release and home confinement.
The updated figures outlined in the agency’s response to Congress in April showed that BOP wardens actually endorsed slightly fewer compassionate release requests as the pandemic progressed. In the first three months, wardens approved 1.4% of release applications. The central office rejected most of those, with Director Michael Carvajal ultimately approving just 0.1%. By the end of April — more than a year into the pandemic, and after more than 200 prisoner deaths — wardens had approved 1.2% of applications, and Carvajal again accepted just 0.1%.
By comparison, federal judges approved 21% of compassionate release requests they considered in 2020, according to a recent report from the U.S. Sentencing Commission....
For the most part, the bureau has offered little insight into its reasons for denying compassionate release. According to the information BOP sent to Congress, wardens denied nearly 23,000 requests because the person “does not meet criteria.” Roughly 3,200 people were denied because their cases were “not extraordinary and compelling,” while a little over 1,200 were rejected for not providing enough information or documentation. Four people met the criteria but were denied due to “correctional concerns,” the agency said.
Of the 374 prisoners that wardens recommended for compassionate release during the pandemic, the agency’s central office rejected or did not respond to just over 90%, apparently without making any note as to why. “The BOP does not track the specific reasons for approval or denial of a compassionate release request at the Central Office level, as there can be several reasons for a particular decision,” wrote General Counsel Ken Hyle. Some of those reasons, he added, could be opposition from federal prosecutors, a lack of release plan or fear that letting someone out would “minimize the severity of the inmate’s offense.”
A few of many prior related posts:
- US Sentencing Commission releases fascinating (and bare bones) "Compassionate Release Data Report"
- Notable data on BOP resistance to compassionate release requests from federal prisoners
- "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
- Notable new review and accounting of COVID and federal compassionate release results
June 11, 2021 at 11:35 AM | Permalink
