Prisoner Case
By July 14, at least 64,119 people in prison had tested positive for the illness, a 13 percent increase from the week before.
New cases among prisoners reached an all-time high this week after slowing down in June. The growth was driven by big jumps in prisoners testing positive in Texas, California, and the federal Bureau of Prisons as well as outbreaks in Idaho, Iowa, Oregon, and South Carolina.
Cases first peaked in late April, when states such as Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, and Texas began mass testing of prisoners. Those initiatives suggested that coronavirus had been circulating among people without symptoms in much greater numbers than previously known.
Deaths
The first known COVID-19 death of a prisoner was in Georgia when Anthony Cheek died on March 26. Cheek, who was 49 years old, had been held in Lee State Prison near Albany, a hotspot for the disease. Since then, at least 680 other prisoners have died of coronavirus-related causes. By July 14, the total number of deaths had risen by 5 percent in a week.
0
of coronavirus reported among prisoners. 40,528 prisoners have recovered.0
from coronavirus reported among prisoners.| Texas | 12,071 | 861 |
| Federal | 8,896 | 516 |
| California | 6,458 | 545 |
| Ohio | 5,082 | 1,042 |
| Michigan | 3,801 | 1,009 |
| Arkansas | 3,482 | 1,915 |
| Tennessee | 3,186 | 1,506 |
| New Jersey | 2,892 | 1,598 |
| Florida | 2,632 | 287 |
| Virginia | 1,530 | 536 |
| Connecticut | 1,346 | — |
| Georgia | 1,064 | 194 |
| North Carolina | 1,052 | 311 |
| Kansas | 910 | 920 |
| Indiana | 728 | 271 |
| Idaho | 694 | 908 |
| Colorado | 668 | 384 |
| Louisiana | 663 | 210 |
| Maryland | 628 | 334 |
| Kentucky | 624 | 530 |
| Arizona | 569 | 137 |
| South Carolina | 563 | 317 |
| New York | 545 | 127 |
| New Mexico | 467 | 709 |
| Massachusetts | 391 | 478 |
| Minnesota | 390 | 452 |
| Illinois | 337 | 91 |
| Oregon | 314 | 217 |
| Pennsylvania | 292 | 66 |
| Wisconsin | 291 | 129 |
| Delaware | 288 | 623 |
| Washington | 277 | 163 |
| Missouri | 245 | 94 |
| Iowa | 224 | 267 |
| Alabama | 138 | 65 |
| West Virginia | 126 | 245 |
| Mississippi | 86 | 46 |
| Vermont | 47 | 334 |
| Utah | 38 | 62 |
| Rhode Island | 18 | — |
| Nevada | 18 | 14 |
| Oklahoma | 11 | 5 |
| Montana | 11 | 29 |
| Nebraska | 8 | 14 |
| North Dakota | 7 | 56 |
| South Dakota | 4 | 11 |
| Maine | 4 | 20 |
| Alaska | 2 | 4 |
| New Hampshire | 1 | 4 |
| Hawaii | 0 | 0 |
| Wyoming | — | — |
Prison Staff
While we know more about how prisoners are getting sick, another group of people is at risk in these facilities: correctional officers, nurses, chaplains, wardens and other workers. We know little about how coronavirus is affecting them, though they have the potential to carry it both into facilities and back out to their communities. It’s difficult to assess how prison workers are being affected because many aren’t being systematically tested.
In the most recent week, 18 states—Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, West Virginia—released information on the number of their staff members tested for coronavirus. Where we do know about positive cases, most state corrections departments stress that the count includes only the employees who voluntarily report a diagnosis, often in the course of calling out sick.
Deaths
While more than 13,863 prison staff members have tested positive, only 47 deaths have been publicly reported. As with cases among prisoners, new staff cases this week are at their highest level since we began tracking this data.
0
of coronavirus reported among prison staff. 8,439 staff have recovered.0
from coronavirus reported among prison staff.Covid-19 related post
Biden Administration to Ramp Up Clemency
Will thousands be released later this year in clemency push by President Biden? May 10, 2021 As the Biden administration begins to make good on its promises to overhaul the criminal justice system in the interest of giving those most impacted by social inequity a seat at the table, media outlets are buzzing with discussions…
Federal Drug Trafficking Offense Penalties – Knowing the Basics
Recently, the FBI and Tennessee law enforcement arrested 10 people on federal drug trafficking charges in Memphis. They were ultimately charged with conspiracy to distribute and possession with the intent to distribute. They had in their possession methamphetamine, cocaine, and more than 100 kilograms of marijuana. Given the conspiracy charges in this case, those arrested…
Trespassing In Cyberspace: The Law of Federal Cybercrime
It has been nicknamed “Celebgate.” That is the federal cybercrime scandal, beginning in September 2014, in which hackers obtained and leaked photographs of a number of female celebrities. The FBI’s investigation into Celebgate is still ongoing and recently (January 2018) resulted in another guilty plea. This time the plea came from a 26-year-old Connecticut man…
The Federal Appeal Process – What you need to know.
Procedural TV shows like Law and Order and films like A Few Good Men make the most of the age-old “courtroom drama” form of entertainment. Most of us, when thinking about courtroom litigation, immediately jump to images of lawyers arguing to a jury, or witnesses in the witness box having a “Perry Mason moment.” However,…
Are Sex Offender Registries Unconstitutional?
A sex offender registry, publicly listing those convicted of federal sex crimes, is important to give the community information to help keep children safe. However, it sometimes leads to absurd, or even tragic, results. Take, for example, 19-year-old William Elliot. He had sex with his then-girlfriend who was a few weeks shy of her 16th…
Health Care Fraud and Abuse: A Primer
The United States loses billions of dollars due to health care fraud and abuse each year. In fact, some estimate the cost to be close to $100 billion annually. Moreover, as national health care expenditures rise – currently into the $3 trillion range – health care fraud schemes appear to be growing in complexity and…
What is Money Laundering?
We hear the phrase whenever we are watching a procedural drama on television, or watching a movie about the mob. This phrase immediately engenders images of nefarious characters transacting business in the organized crime underworld. Indeed, recent news indicates that the current occupant of the White House is possibly mired in a scheme involving this…
Federal Fraud: The Law and Recent Cases that Affect Our Lives
The offense of federal fraud encompasses a wide number of economic, often white-collar, crimes. But in short, a “fraud” is simply a criminal lie. It is a lie that is used to obtain some personal gain. We may often think of white-collar economic crimes as those offenses that happen in boardrooms and beach resorts and…