I became a prosecutor in 1995 because I believed in order and justice. I went to Detroit to be a prosecutor because it seemed like a place in desperate need of order, justice, and the talents of expatriates like me who had drifted off to richer, more stable places.Like most prosecutors, I believed in the rigid federal sentencing guidelines then in place. This included the guidelines in our many crack cocaine cases, which assessed the same penalty for a single gram of crack as it did for 100 grams of powder cocaine. One of my crack cases involved a teenager named Anthony “Bull” Shepherd, who was caught in an abandoned house with a little over five grams of crack and a gun hidden in a couch.

Mark Osler

Every day, Richard Lee Chalk prays that he’ll be let out of prison. He applied for clemency five months ago and now that there’s a coronavirus outbreak, going home is even more urgent. The 61-year-old has a heart condition and Type 2 diabetes, which means catching COVID-19 could be deadly. But even apart from his health and age, Chalk is the perfect candidate for clemency. 

“As we report the loss of a tenth life to COVID-19 in Denton County today, we hope everyone will take a moment to keep our fellow residents affected by this pandemic in your thoughts and prayers,” said Denton County Judge Andy Eads. “The seriousness of taking precautions cannot be overstated. With community spread endemic in our county, we must take the necessary steps to ensure we do not contribute to the problem.”

On Tuesday night, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo quietly introduced legislative text for the state budget that would completely reverse the state’s new bail reform law, which has only been in effect since Jan. 1. If Cuomo succeeds in rolling back bail reform, he would not only exacerbate the coronavirus pandemic by ensuring that tens of thousands more people would be jailed this year, but he would also likely doom the closure of the Rikers Island jail complex, which hinged on bail reform reducing the jail population.

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — City officials reported eight new coronavirus cases in Philadelphia jails in just one day, bringing the total to 20 inmate infections as of Thursday. The announcement comes as more advocates demand answers.

"There's been no answers. No answers at all," said Shaka Johnson, an attorney who represents dozens of inmates in the Philadelphia jails and Pennsylvania state prison system. He said his phone has been ringing off the hook in recent days, from inmates and their family members inquiring about the prisons’ COVID-19 response.

"They are calling and singing the same refrain. ‘We are concerned, we are scared,’ ” he added.

Calls to the outside world have told tales of fear and anger behind the wall. In-person visitation was suspended to stop the spread of COVID-19 and inmate movement inside Philadelphia prisons has been limited.

The only connection to the outside world is calls, emails and virtual visits through video, but the measures have not stopped rumors from spreading.

"There are 130 people who are on State Road who are 60 and over and there are countless others who are medically vulnerable," said Claire Shubik-Richards, executive director of the Pennsylvania Prison Society. "If we had information we could calm some nerves.”

The city of Philadelphia announced on Thursday that 20 inmates in city jails have tested positive for COVID-19, but officials have refused to provide information regarding the number of staff members infected with the virus.

According to the prisons website, Philadelphia prisons have added staff protocols, including temperature and symptom checks, to keep the coronavirus from coming into the jails.

The announcement comes after calls from criminal justice advocacy groups to reduce prison populations nationwide in order to avoid what could be a disastrous and dangerous spread of the virus. Kevin Ring, the president of Families against Mandatory Minimums, told CBS News his concern is that inmates will die unnecessarily if the bureau does not take "bolder" actions. Ring says officials should consider other avenues like compassionate release.

"I don't think it's enough," Ring said. "I think it's a small step in the right direction, but I think it's a peacetime move in a time of war."

The motion asks for “targeted releases” of low-risk inmates who have less than a year left to serve as well as the release or relocation of inmates who are 65 or older and those who have chronic lung disease or other medical conditions that put them at severe risk from COVID-19. The lawyers also seek steps to protect about 50,000 prisoners double-bunked in open dorms where social distancing is impossible.

Despite the federal government's guidance to stay inside and many states' stay-in-place orders, the Bureau of Prisons is still moving inmates from facility to facility, internal documents obtained by ABC News show.

One document, written to staff at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City, says that inmate movement is suspended for 30 days, but at the end adds, “Other case-by-case exceptions for judicial proceedings [are to] be brought to the attention of the appropriate Regional Counsel for consideration.”

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/warnings-bureau-prisons-transporting-inmates-sources/story?id=69747416

Sherman also reminds these people that Rikers Island is not just a prison for hardened criminals who have been convicted of serious and violent crimes, even if that's how people see the place. It's where thousands of people go when they can't make bail. (Even though New York has reformed its cash bail system so that it's not required for most misdemeanors, judges are still authorized to set money demands for a host of more serious crimes.) It's also where parole violators are sent. Sherman notes that more than 600 prisoners in New York's jail system are being held for technical parole violations. That means they didn't violate the law but broke court-mandated rules of behavior, like violating curfew or missing a meeting with a parole officer. Some of them are back in jail for failing a drug test. Another 551 people in city jails are serving prison terms of less than a year. Sherman is urging the city to follow in the footsteps of Ohio and California and try to find ways to reduce the city's jail population.