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May 12, 2022: COMPASSIONATE RELEASE and BOP COVID-19 BLOG


Fast Facts (Full BOP stats can be found here) Currently positive-testing inmates: 111 (up from 104) Currently positive-testing staff: 195 (up from 179) Recovered inmates currently in the BOP: 51,879 (down from 51,947) Recovered staff: 12,628 (up from 12,627)


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

Miami FDC: 17 (unchanged)

Rochester FMC: 13 (up from 11)

Guaynabo MDC: 9

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

Rochester FMC: 26 (up from 21)

Central Office HQ: 20 (unchanged)

Victorville Medium I FCI: 13 (unchanged)

System-wide testing results: Presently, BOP has 138,385 federal inmates in BOP-managed institutions and 13,453 in community-based facilities. Today's stats: Completed tests: 128,724 (up from 128,723) Positive tests: 55,372 (up 55,371)


Total vaccine doses administered: 316,729 (up from 316,422)


Case Note: Defendant's rehabilitation, severe prison conditions and duration of his sentence already served together satisfy the extraordinary and compelling standard and would result in lifer's release should Second Circuit remand for decision....


In U.S. v. ROBIN SCOTT TELLIER, , 2022 WL 1468381 (S.D.N.Y. May 10, 2022) (Schofield, J.), court issues an indicative ruling that, if remanded, court would release defendant/jail house lawyer serving a life sentence, explaining: "Defendant, a sixty-one-year-old inmate at FCI Schuylkill, moves for a sentence reduction pursuant to 18U.S.C. §3582(c)(1)(A). The government opposes the motion. Because Defendant has appealed a decision denying his request for resentencing, the Second Circuit currently has jurisdiction over Defendant's sentence. Therefore, this ruling is made as an indicative ruling under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 37(a)(3). For the reasons discussed below, the Court indicates that, if it had jurisdiction, it would grant Defendant's motion for a sentence reduction to time served. … Defendant has been incarcerated for almost three decades since he was thirty-one years old. Defendant was the primary leader of a criminal organization known as the “Tellier Organization” that operated in the tri-state area at least through the late 1970s through the early 1990s.…The jury found that Defendant had committed all of the charged racketeering predicate acts, which included murder, attempted murder and robbery. Id. Defendant's sentencing was subject to the 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) “stacking” rules and mandatory sentencing guidelines. In November 1994, Defendant was sentenced to life imprisonment, four consecutive terms of imprisonment of twenty years, and concurrent terms of imprisonment of twenty years, ten years and five years. … Here, Defendant's rehabilitation, severe prison conditions and duration of his sentence already served together satisfy the extraordinary and compelling standard. The weight of evidence of Defendant's rehabilitation is remarkable, especially given his life sentence. Since 1994 when he was sentenced, Defendant has been a model inmate, committed to self-improvement and helping others inside and outside his prison community. …While incarcerated in some of the country's most dangerous facilities, Defendant incurred only two minor disciplinary infractions for (1) mailing a letter to be sent to a third party and (2) using another prisoner's phone code.…. As a “jailhouse lawyer,” Defendant successfully overturned two of his own convictions and has served as an advocate for numerous other inmates. Many current and former inmates stated in letters that Defendant never turned away anyone who sought his legal assistance and accepted nothing in return for his services, which inmates report is uncommon in the prison environment. One individual noted that Defendant used his own prison income and was charged by the minute when he drafted a motion on his email account for another inmate. Defendant has achieved some success through his advocacy -- he successfully lobbied for Catholic mass services at two facilities and an eye surgery for one inmate, vacated a fellow inmate's convictions, obtained certificates of appealability and helped another achieve compassionate release. Defendant's former lawyer was so impressed with his legal acumen that he has offered to provide some type of paralegal employment for Defendant in the event he is released. …Here, in addition to harsh conditions that Defendant experienced prior to the pandemic, Defendant has most recently endured extended lockdowns, when he was confined to his cell for twenty-three hours a day, and limited to one ten-minute phone call per day. He has not seen his family in nineteen months due to visitor restrictions. Defendant suffers from obesity, chronic asthma, prediabetes and high cholesterol. While harsh conditions and the risk of contracting COVID-19 are insufficient on their own, these factors weigh in favor of finding extraordinary and compelling reasons. … The twenty-nine years Defendant has served is just punishment for the extremely serious offenses for which he was convicted. Defendant's life sentence is not in line with nationwide sentences for murder and other serious crimes. See, e.g., Graham v. Florida, 560 U.S. 48, 93 (2010) (Roberts, J., concurring) (noting that a life without parole sentence was “far more severe than the average sentence imposed on those convicted of murder or manslaughter, who typically receive under 25 years in prison”) … Second, the Government argues that many of Defendant's achievements, including his near spotless disciplinary record, are expected or at least typical of all inmates and are not extraordinary. In doing so, the government discounts the realities of prison life, where “infractions may be issued for matters as small as a messy cell,” United States v. Underwood, No. 88 Cr. 822, 2021 WL 3204834, at *4 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 15, 2021) … For the foregoing reasons, the Court INDICATES that, if it had jurisdiction, it would grant Defendant's motion for a sentence reduction to time served with appropriate restrictive and monitoring conditions to be determined after a hearing. Defendant's counsel is instructed to so notify the Clerk of Court for the Second Circuit.”


Death Watch (Note: The BOP press website announces BOP COVID-related deaths here.) The BOP has identified no additional COVID-related inmate fatalities, leaving the total at 295. Eleven of the inmates died while on home confinement. Staff deaths remain at 7



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