Troubling stories continuing to emerge from federal prisons

BOP’s COVID-19 Update page reports that, as of April 15, “there are 449 federal inmates and 280 BOP staff who have confirmed positive test results for COVID-19 nationwide … [and] 16 federal inmate deaths.”  If these numbers alone are not troublesome enough, these recent stories make the current reality of federal prisons seem even more grim and worrisome:

From AP, “Justice Dept. watchdog to inspect prisons amid virus spread“

From Cleveland Scene, “Three More Inmates Have Died of COVID-19 This Week at Elkton Federal Prison Since ACLU Asked Courts for Help“

From Forbes, “Federal Bureau Of Prisons Institutions Not Showing Any Signs Of ‘Flattening Curve’“

From The Intercept, “As Virus Spreads In Federal Prisons, People Inside Describe Chaos, While Families Are Left In The Dark“

From KATV, “‘It’s like Mad Max in here’: Arkansas inmate says conditions woeful amid outbreak“

From Law360, “Mass. Federal Prison A COVID-19 ‘Powder Keg,’ Suit Claims“

If one is eager to find any silver lining within these dark clouds, BOP is reporting that over a thousand federal prisoners have been moved into home confinement over the last three weeks: “Since the release of the Attorney General’s original memo to the Bureau of Prisons on March 26, 2020 instructing us to prioritize home confinement as an appropriate response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the BOP has placed an additional 1119 inmates on home confinement.”  In addition, a Politico story provides some not awful news, “Federal prisons make inmate calling, video visits free during pandemic” (although I find it disconcerting that only amidst a pandemic can prisoners communicate with their family without being subject to fees they likely cannot reasonably afford).

UPDATE:  Because of the move of many persons into home confinement and also likely because of fewer people starting their federal prison terms, the federal prison population as reported here by BOP is now on April 16, 2020 down to “172,349 Total Federal Inmates.”  Last week, as discussed in this post, BOP was reporting the number was 173,686 inmates.   (I predicted in my prior post that we might get below 170,000 before the end of the month, but I am less sure upon hearing addition reports about the dynamics of the home confinement process.)