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| N.Y. halfway house hit by coronavirus balked at judge’s order to release at-risk inmate, his lawyers say | N.Y. halfway house hit by coronavirus balked at judge’s order to release at-risk inmate, his lawyers say |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| NEW YORK — Damian Campagna was assigned to a cramped six-bunk room in the Brooklyn Residential Reentry Center, a halfway house here for reformed inmates serving out the remaining months of their prison sentences, when two of his roommates became sick and bedridden. | NEW YORK — Damian Campagna was assigned to a cramped six-bunk room in the Brooklyn Residential Reentry Center, a halfway house here for reformed inmates serving out the remaining months of their prison sentences, when two of his roommates became sick and bedridden. |
| The 55-year-old was alarmed by what he described as the lack of precautionary measures taken by staff in response to the rapid spread of the coronavirus, and he began to worry for his safety, having recently learned from his doctor that he faced “significant risk” because a blood cell condition he has managed for years compromises his immune system. | The 55-year-old was alarmed by what he described as the lack of precautionary measures taken by staff in response to the rapid spread of the coronavirus, and he began to worry for his safety, having recently learned from his doctor that he faced “significant risk” because a blood cell condition he has managed for years compromises his immune system. |
| “I went down on more than one occasion to the desk to let the staff there know that there were sick men in my room,” said Campagna, who is finishing a 40-month sentence for conspiracy to traffic weapons. “Both of the times I went down there, I got pretty much the same answer, which was they’re grown men. If they are feeling bad enough they could call an ambulance themselves.” | “I went down on more than one occasion to the desk to let the staff there know that there were sick men in my room,” said Campagna, who is finishing a 40-month sentence for conspiracy to traffic weapons. “Both of the times I went down there, I got pretty much the same answer, which was they’re grown men. If they are feeling bad enough they could call an ambulance themselves.” |
| A judge granted Campagna’s request for immediate release, but when Campagna presented the order to staff at the reentry center, he said, they stalled. | A judge granted Campagna’s request for immediate release, but when Campagna presented the order to staff at the reentry center, he said, they stalled. |
| CORE Services Group, a private entity that runs Brooklyn Residential Reentry Center, did not respond to requests for comment. | CORE Services Group, a private entity that runs Brooklyn Residential Reentry Center, did not respond to requests for comment. |
| An explosion of coronavirus cases cripples a federal prison in Louisiana | An explosion of coronavirus cases cripples a federal prison in Louisiana |
| Halfway houses for federal convicts are emerging as a gray area in the coronavirus crisis, even as thousands of jail and prison inmates nationwide have been released in a desperate effort to contain the spread of the virus. The houses are operated by contractors for the Federal Bureau of Prisons, an arm of the Justice Department, potentially complicating efforts for a cohesive response to the rapidly advancing public health emergency. | |
| Attorney General William P. Barr issued guidelines to the Bureau of Prisons last week encouraging the release of eligible inmates, but halfway houses were not specifically addressed. As a result, some inmates, including Campagna, have turned to the courts. | |
| Sign up for our Coronavirus Updates newsletter to track the outbreak. All stories linked in the newsletter are free to access. | Sign up for our Coronavirus Updates newsletter to track the outbreak. All stories linked in the newsletter are free to access. |
| “While the attorney general’s memo certainly applies to all BOP inmates, because it doesn’t explicitly address halfway houses, it seems that may have fallen through the cracks throughout middle management’s implementation,” said Tim Parlatore, one of Campagna’s lawyers who successfully argued for his client’s release last week. | “While the attorney general’s memo certainly applies to all BOP inmates, because it doesn’t explicitly address halfway houses, it seems that may have fallen through the cracks throughout middle management’s implementation,” said Tim Parlatore, one of Campagna’s lawyers who successfully argued for his client’s release last week. |
| Asked about the attorney general’s memo and its application to halfway houses, Justin Long, a Bureau of Prisons spokesman said, “We will be working to ensure we utilize home confinement, consistent with the memo, to protect the health and safety of BOP staff and inmates in our custody.” | Asked about the attorney general’s memo and its application to halfway houses, Justin Long, a Bureau of Prisons spokesman said, “We will be working to ensure we utilize home confinement, consistent with the memo, to protect the health and safety of BOP staff and inmates in our custody.” |
| Campagna is now under a form of house arrest on Long Island. After his potential exposure to the coronavirus while living in the halfway house, he has developed a slight cough and was told to quarantine for two weeks, he said. | Campagna is now under a form of house arrest on Long Island. After his potential exposure to the coronavirus while living in the halfway house, he has developed a slight cough and was told to quarantine for two weeks, he said. |
| The Brooklyn House, as the reentry center is known, has at least four confirmed coronavirus cases, according to the Bureau of Prisons website — as of Tuesday, the second-highest number of any federal detention facility in the country. Only the minimum-security prison in Oakdale, La., where there are at least seven confirmed inmate cases, has more. | |
| Nationwide, 29 inmates and 30 staff members in Bureau of Prisons facilities have the potentially deadly virus. | Nationwide, 29 inmates and 30 staff members in Bureau of Prisons facilities have the potentially deadly virus. |
| D.C. Council member calls on Federal Bureau of Prisons to address coronavirus concerns at halfway house | D.C. Council member calls on Federal Bureau of Prisons to address coronavirus concerns at halfway house |
| Efforts by Campagna’s lawyers to get him released began March 16, before they learned about his medical risk. As the coronavirus crisis worsened in the United States, Campagna, who owned a motorcycle shop on Long Island before his arrest, heard from his doctor that his white blood cell deficiency put him in the high-risk category. The doctor strongly recommended isolation and home quarantine. | |
| Conditions inside the Brooklyn House left him vulnerable, he said, describing how employees there used the same pair of gloves to pat down residents, how the bathrooms were shared by as many as 60 men, and how other shared spaces like the cafeteria and computer stations were not cleaned beyond normal measures. Hand sanitizer, which is alcohol-based, was generally not provided or allowed, he said. | Conditions inside the Brooklyn House left him vulnerable, he said, describing how employees there used the same pair of gloves to pat down residents, how the bathrooms were shared by as many as 60 men, and how other shared spaces like the cafeteria and computer stations were not cleaned beyond normal measures. Hand sanitizer, which is alcohol-based, was generally not provided or allowed, he said. |
| The ailing men in his room, who had been ill for about two weeks, were sniffling and coughing — tissues and cough medicine strewn about the room, Campagna said. | The ailing men in his room, who had been ill for about two weeks, were sniffling and coughing — tissues and cough medicine strewn about the room, Campagna said. |
| “They were in bed under the covers most of the time,” Campagna said. | “They were in bed under the covers most of the time,” Campagna said. |
| Campagna’s lawyers first appealed to a court March 24 and filed a doctor’s note the following day. His release was ordered by a federal judge Friday, but the judge’s order was not honored promptly, one of his lawyers said. | Campagna’s lawyers first appealed to a court March 24 and filed a doctor’s note the following day. His release was ordered by a federal judge Friday, but the judge’s order was not honored promptly, one of his lawyers said. |
| “I sent my client the order and he was there and told [the halfway house supervisor] that there was this immediate order for his release,” said Andrew Mancilla, another of Campagna’s attorneys. “And the guy just looked at him and said, ‘I’ll look at it later,’ and left the building.” | “I sent my client the order and he was there and told [the halfway house supervisor] that there was this immediate order for his release,” said Andrew Mancilla, another of Campagna’s attorneys. “And the guy just looked at him and said, ‘I’ll look at it later,’ and left the building.” |
| Mancilla tried to follow up with the supervisor, Michael Lowe, and said he was told the matter would have to “wait until Monday.” Lowe could not immediately be reached for comment. | Mancilla tried to follow up with the supervisor, Michael Lowe, and said he was told the matter would have to “wait until Monday.” Lowe could not immediately be reached for comment. |
| Mancilla said he spent the next several hours contacting people within the Bureau of Prisons to impress upon them that his client’s medical condition — and the judge’s order — demanded urgency. Officials granted Campagna’s release late Friday evening. | Mancilla said he spent the next several hours contacting people within the Bureau of Prisons to impress upon them that his client’s medical condition — and the judge’s order — demanded urgency. Officials granted Campagna’s release late Friday evening. |