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December 1, 2021: COMPASSIONATE RELEASE and BOP COVID-19 BLOG



Quick Facts (Full BOP stats can be found here) Currently positive-testing inmates: 165 (up from 146) Currently positive-testing staff: 231 (down from 232) Recovered inmates: 42,054 (down from 42,112) Recovered staff: 8,516 (up from 8,508)


Institutions with the largest number of currently positive-testing inmates:

Waseca FCI: 55 (up from 34)

McKean FCI: 23 (unchanged)

Stafford FCI: 11 (unchanged)

Institutions with the largest number of currently positive-testing staff:

Carswell FMC: 13 (unchanged)

McKean FCI: 13 (unchanged)

Beaumont USP: 12 (unchanged)

System-wide testing results: Presently, BOP has 134,418 federal inmates in BOP-managed institutions and 14,882 in community-based facilities. Today's stats: Completed tests: 126,136 (up from 126,038) Positive tests: 41,816 (down from 41,852)


Total vaccine doses administered: 258,872 (256,993)


Case Note: Defendant, with cancer diagnosis, granted relief where not clear whether he could be vaccinated...


In U.S. v. ANDREW MANGANAS, 2021 WL 5565852 (M.D. Pa. Nov. 29, 2021) (Rambo, J.), the court found that, because the record is unclear whether and when defendant can be vaccinated, the risks posed by his cancer diagnosis present enough of a risk to send him home, and notwithstanding that the he moved for CR from state custody (which the Government did not oppose), explaining: "In January 2018, Manganas pled guilty to one count of theft from an employee benefit plan, one count of mail fraud, and three counts of violating the Clean Water Act. (Docs. 39, 44.) The charges involved a federal contract for Manganas's company, Panthera Painting, to repaint the George Wade Bridge in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. … In August 2019, the court sentenced Manganas to 46 months of imprisonment and two years of supervised release. (Doc. 85.) The court applied a two-level enhancement to Manganas's guideline range because it found that he directed a grand jury witness to give false testimony. … Manganas has also shown extraordinary and compelling circumstances that justify a reduction in sentence to time served based on his medical conditions and the COVID-19 pandemic. Manganas is 64 years old and suffers from serious medical conditions including chronic lymphocytic leukemia, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow. (See Doc. 100-2, p. 33.) The disease is potentially life-threatening and primarily affects lymphocytes or white blood cells that are critical to the body's ability to fight infections. Its symptoms include frequent infections in the upper and lower respiratory tracts, and it places patients at risk for developing other cancers and immune issues. … As an initial matter, Manganas contends that he exhausted all administrative remedies because he did not have access to the Bureau of Prison's administrative remedy program prior to filing his motion. (Doc. 145, p. 1.) The government does not contest Manganas's assertion or otherwise argue that Manganas failed to properly exhaust his administrative remedies. … Manganas's medical conditions, serious in their own right, also increase his risk of suffering complications from COVID-19, as the CDC unequivocally warns that cancer and cancer treatment, asthma, and pulmonary emphysema can increase the risk of severe illness and death from the virus. … Indeed, Manganas already contracted the virus once while incarcerated. Though the infection occurred while Manganas was housed at a state institution, the facilities at his current place of incarceration have experienced severe outbreaks of the virus, resulting in 30 inmate deaths, 2 staff member deaths, 978 prior infections among inmates, and 166 prior infections among staff members. … It is true, as the government argues, that the increased availability of the COVID-19 vaccination cuts against finding extraordinary and compelling circumstances based on the pandemic. But the record is far from clear as to whether Manganas has had an opportunity to become fully vaccinated to date. According to Manganas, he was not previously vaccinated because a nurse at his prior institution told him that he should not receive the vaccine until several months after his recovery from the virus. And while the government represents that Manganas will be eligible to receive the vaccine, it does so only generally, and without specifying when Manganas would actually be offered treatment or whether it would require more than one dose. Given these considerations, and mindful that the vaccine itself is not bullet proof and that Manganas's medical conditions are themselves life-threatening, Manganas has shown extraordinary and compelling circumstances notwithstanding the availability of the COVID-19 vaccination. …


Death Watch (Note: The BOP press website announces BOP COVID-related deaths here.) The BOP has identified one new COVID-19 fatality, that of Keith Roddy, 68, of FCI Hazelton. Total inmate COVID-related now stand at 268. Ten of the inmate fatalities died while on home confinement. Staff deaths remain at 7.



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