Fast Facts (Full BOP stats can be found here)
Confirmed active cases at 89 BOP facilities and 10 RRCs
Currently positive-testing inmates: 160 (up from 142) Currently positive-testing staff: 367 (down from 381) Recovered inmates currently in the BOP: 48,556 (down from 48,641) Recovered staff: 14,262 (up from 14,238)
Institutions with the largest number of currently positive-testing inmates:
Houston FCI: 18
McKean FCI: 16
Phoenix FCI: 16
Institutions with the largest number of currently positive-testing staff:
Central Office HQ: 58 (unchanged)
Rochester FMC: 27 (unchanged)
Fairton FCI: 27
System-wide testing results: Presently, BOP has 143,394 federal inmates in BOP-managed institutions and 14,072 in community-based facilities. Today's stats: Completed tests: 128,688 (128,686) Positive tests: 55,336 (55,334)
Total vaccine doses administered: 332,149 (up from 331,762)
Case Notes: A pair of cases where family circumstances deemed extraordinary and compelling...
In U.S, v. Baldwin, No. CR 20-05-GF-BMM, 2022 WL 6715355 (D. Mont. Oct. 11, 2022) (Morris, CJ), the court found extraordinary and compelling defendant’s need to care for his wife who had an aneurysm and could not care for their special-needs daughter, in addition to defendant, who is three-feet tall and is suffering myriad health issues, explaining: “Baldwin is currently serving a sentence of 60 months for distribution of methamphetamine. (Doc. 53.) Baldwin has served approximately 31 months of his sentence. (Doc. 85 at 4.) Baldwin's scheduled release date is August 23, 2023. … Despite this Court's determination that it has discretion to provide relief, Baldwin still must demonstrate that extraordinary and compelling reasons support release or a reduction of his sentence. Maumau, 2020 WL 806121, at *5. Baldwin urges the Court to release him on the basis of his spouse and daughter's disabilities and health problems. (Doc. 65 at 7; Doc. 65-1 at 1.) Baldwin's wife is disabled and suffered a brain aneurism in approximately May 2022. (Doc. 65-1 at 1.) Baldwin's daughter is disabled as well; Baldwin and his wife are “all she has.” (Id.) Baldwin also cites in support of his motion his lack of a disciplinary record in prison and his completion of educational and treatment programming while incarcerated. Baldwin further points to his serious disabilities and health problems. Baldwin suffers from hepatitis C. (Doc. 57 at 2.) Baldwin lost both his legs in an accident with a freight train. (Id.) Baldwin sustained a neck fracture and shoulder injury from a subsequent car accident. (Id.) Baldwin also acquired a brain injury as a teenager. (Id.) He is obese and suffers from heart conditions and diminished lung capacity. (Id.; Doc. 65-1 at 10.) Baldwin is three feet tall and has gained over 110 pounds since his most recent arrest. (Doc. 65-1 at 1.) Baldwin also states that his shoulder issues cause him significant pain and limit his mobility. (Id.; Doc. 61 at 5.) Baldwin asserts that he has been unable to obtain a needed shoulder surgery while incarcerated at FMC. The Court determines that extraordinary and compelling reasons exist to reduce Baldwin's sentence, but not to grant Baldwin's motion for compassionate release effective immediately. In light of the extraordinary and compelling reasons presented by Baldwin's disabilities, the disabilities and health problems of his spouse and daughter, and the evidence of Baldwin's rehabilitation in confinement, the Court will reduce Baldwin's sentence to 54 months. Reducing Baldwin's sentence to 54 months comports with the § 3553(a) sentencing factors. Baldwin was a criminal history category four. (Doc. 45 at 13.) Baldwin's total offense level was calculated to be 31 based on the quantity of methamphetamine. (Id. at 22.) Baldwin has served over 31 months of his sentence. … Baldwin's lack of disciplinary record and completion of education and treatment programming while serving his sentence address the needs to “protect the public” and to “provide the defendant with needed education or vocational training” and “other correctional treatment.” § 3553(a)(2)(C), (a)(2)(D). These considerations, in combination with the serious disabilities and health concerns of Baldwin, his wife, and their daughter, militate in favor of a reduced sentence.”
In U.S. v. Rushworth, No. 2:18-CR-230-RMP-2, 2022 WL 7692147 (E.D. Wash. Oct. 13, 2022) (Peterson, J.), the court, with the Government's agreement, released defendant to care for two disabled children because their current care-taker, defendant’s mother, is pre-occupied with dealing with her own serious medical conditions, explaining: "On November 12, 2020, after pleading guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute heroin in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(C), Defendant Tegan M. Rushworth was sentenced to a term of incarceration of 55 months, followed by three years of supervised release. Defendant is 37 years old and is currently incarcerated at Federal Correctional Institution (“FCI”) Waseca in Minnesota. Her anticipated release date is May 26, 2025. … Defendant's two children B.R. (age 15) and James (age 18) reside with Defendant's mother Alisa Sam in Newberg, Oregon. ECF No. 181 at 2. Both B.R. and James have been diagnosed with increasingly severe mental health conditions that necessitate adult supervision and care for the children to function day-to-day. Id. at 4; ECF No. 188 at 2. Ms. Sam, the children's sole provider and caregiver, faces severe and time-sensitive health issues herself. She currently is recovering from spinal reconstruction surgery and complications resulting from the procedure. ECF No. 181 at 1-2. Ms. Sam requires both an additional surgery to address these complications and a total left knee replacement once she completes her spinal recovery. Id. at 3. Due to her health issues, she is unable to provide adequate care to B.R. and James, particularly given the level of care that they require. …. Defendant bases her request for compassionate release on extraordinary and compelling family circumstances. Specifically, Ms. Sam, upon whom Defendant's two children depend for their safety and well-being, faces serious health issues that prevent her from serving in a caregiver role. ECF No. 182 at 9. The unanticipated complications from Ms. Sam's surgeries have rendered her unable to work, limited her mobility, and left her dependent on Social Security Disability Insurance benefits as her sole source of income. Id. at 9. Defendant's two children, one of whom is a minor, require adult supervision and care, particularly considering their increasingly severe mental health conditions. The Government, cognizant that there does not appear to be a reasonable alternative caregiver to Ms. Sam, agrees that Ms. Sam's medical issues and her inability to provide adequate care to Defendant's children present an extraordinary and compelling reason for the Court to reduce Defendant's sentence. The Court concurs and finds that Defendant's family circumstances present extraordinary and compelling reason justifying release. …. The Court shares the Government's concern regarding Defendant's release plan, particularly given the stress that Defendant will face not only as her children's primary caretaker, but also likely her mother's. See ECF 185 at 6. However, the Court agrees with Defendant that modifying her supervision conditions and extending her supervision period will help to mitigate these concerns. … Specifically, the Court finds that replacing a portion of Ms. Rushworth's previously imposed term of incarceration with an additional 12-month period of special supervised release will adequately address the seriousness of her offense and the need for the originally imposed sentence while accounting for the extraordinary and compelling circumstances that justify her compassionate release. … The responsibility of caring for her family offers Defendant a purpose upon release and an opportunity to partake in her children's upbringing. Given that Defendant's circumstances require that she abide by the terms of her supervised release or risk jeopardizing her family's well-being, and given Defendant's rehabilitative efforts while incarcerated, the Court finds that Ms. Rushworth does not present a significant danger to the safety of the public or community and that extending and modifying her supervised release will act as a sufficient deterrent to future criminal conduct.”
Death Watch (Note: The BOP press website announces BOP COVID-related deaths here.) Today the BOP identified no additional inmate fatalities and so the total number COVID-related inmate deaths remains at 308. Eleven of the inmates died while on home confinement. Staff deaths remain at 7