Federal Jails Are Covid-Free, U.S. Says at Murder Bail Hearing
Federal Jails Are Covid-Free, U.S. Says at Murder Bail Hearing
(Bloomberg) -- The federal jails which house defendants awaiting trial haven’t had any reported cases of the coronavirus, a U.S. prosecutor told a judge in Brooklyn, New York.
A man accused of two murders in a drug trafficking case, had asked to be released on bail because of the risk that he might contract COVID-19 if he remains jailed at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center. But the government said at a hearing Tuesday that such fears were unfounded.
“There are no confirmed cases of novel coronavirus at the MDC or at any federal detention facility,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Tanya Hajjar said. She noted that six inmates at a federal detention center in Washington state initially reported “flu-like symptoms” but ultimately tested negative for COVID-19. One federal jail staffer in Kentucky was quarantined after exposure to the coronavirus from an outside source, the prosecutor said.
Darin Hamilton was already ruled a danger to the community by a federal judge, and he faces a possible life sentence if convicted of the charges, Hajjar pointed out. He shouldn’t now be freed on bail because he fears of contracting the virus in a jail, she said.
U.S. District Judge Margo Brodie agreed with the government and denied Hamilton’s request.
“I don’t appreciate that there’s any change in circumstances here that warrant any changes in bail,” the judge said. “There is no outbreak at the MDC. The MDC has taken measures in the same fashion the court has.”
Hamilton’s lawyer, Kelley Sharkey, had argued that her 61-year-old client was at higher risk for the disease. In addition to his age, Hamilton has suffered both a heart attack and a stroke within the last five years, she said. The lawyer noted the 1,700-inmate MDC’s conditions are “woefully inadequate” at the best of times -- the jail lost all heating during a cold spell last winter.
Sharkey also complained that MDC, like all federal jails, has suspended visits to detainees by both family and lawyers for 30 days.
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.