Blumenthal Urges Release of Vulnerable & Pregnant Inmates From Federal Prison in Light of COVID-19 Pandemic

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) joined U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Richard J. Durbin (D-IL), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Kamala D. Harris (D-CA), in a new letter to Attorney General William Barr and Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Director Michael Carvajal directing the BOP to take necessary precautions in light of the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure the safety and health of medically vulnerable inmates, including medically vulnerable pregnant individuals. In their letter, the Members expressed grave concerns regarding the well-being of pregnant federal inmates during the pandemic following reports of the death of Andrea Circle Bear, the first pregnant federal inmate to die from COVID-19. The lawmakers’ letter requests that BOP take measures to release eligible medically vulnerable and pregnant individuals in their custody or transfer them to home confinement, and work with federal public defenders and other organizations that provide legal services to federal inmates to ensure they have access to counsel.

“Ms. Circle Bear, one of 52 federally incarcerated individuals to die of COVID-19 according to the Bureau of Prisons, appears to be the first pregnant woman to die from COVID-19 while in custody. Previously, many of us have urged you to develop and implement policies to transfer to home confinement or release eligible individuals who are especially vulnerable to the coronavirus, including medically vulnerable pregnant women. Prisons are hotspots for the novel coronavirus, and urgent, immediate action is required as social distancing measures are nearly impossible to implement inside these facilities,” the Members wrote in their letter.

The lawmakers continued: “And yet, while your March 26 and April 3 memoranda instructing officials to opt for home confinement demonstrate an acknowledgement of the risks associated with COVID-19, your directives have not been implemented with the urgency and coordination this pandemic requires. The BOP has a population of 138,954 but only approximately 2,643 people have been transferred to home confinement in recent weeks. Moreover, public reports indicate that confusing, shifting guidance has resulted in uneven implementation even though thousands of lives are at stake. In short, DOJ has failed to respond appropriately to this global pandemic. Swift, urgent action is required to prevent more tragedies like the death of Ms. Circle Bear.”

The urgency of the lawmakers’ request is underscored by the tragic death of Ms. Circle Bear, an incarcerated pregnant woman, who died from COVID-19 in BOP custody on April 28. A citizen of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, Ms. Circle Bear was in her second trimester at her sentencing in January 2020, and was detained at Winner City Jail in South Dakota, where there were no reported cases of COVID-19. On March 20, 2020, a week after BOP stated that the agency was restricting movement of individuals under its custody to address the outbreak, Ms. Circle Bear was transferred to a facility in Texas, FMC Carswell, despite concerns about travel during the outbreak, and Ms. Circle Bear reportedly later tested positive for the novel coronavirus. After developing COVID-19 like symptoms, she was transferred to a hospital, where medical providers performed an emergency Caesarean section to deliver her premature baby. Ms. Circle Bear gave birth while on a ventilator, and struggled to survive in the hospital for four weeks before she passed away. According to the lawmakers, Ms. Circle Bear’s death raises many questions about the precautions BOP is taking to protect the health and safety of pregnant women.

Senators Blumenthal, Murray, Durbin, Warren and Harris were joined in the letter by U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Robert P. Casey, Jr. (D-PA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Tom Carper (D-DE), Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Christopher A. Coons (D-DE).

Read the full letter HERE.

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