COVID-19: U.S. authorities will not free inmates early without court order

Inmates

Washington, March 20, 2020 (Sputnik/NAN) A senior official, Justin Long said U.S. authorities would not release prisoners early who have contracted the coronavirus without a judicial order.

Long, a staff of Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Public Affairs Division, made this known to sputnik on Friday.

U.S. human rights groups have demanded the early release of prisoners who test positive for the virus, which has killed more than 150 Americans as of Thursday.

“If you are referring to reducing an inmate’s sentence as a result of COVID-19, there is no provision in federal law to allow for reducing the sentence of an offender, absent a judicial order,’’ he said.

Long added that the BOP has instituted a comprehensive management approach that includes screening, treatment, prevention, education, and infection control measures.

According to him, the bureau has stocked up sufficient supplies to meet the sanitary and medical demands of the crisis.

In the U.S., 11,274 individuals have contracted the virus, just as 157 have died from the disease, according to Johns Hopkins University. (Sputnik/NAN)

HLM/YEE

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Edited by Hadiza Mohammed/Emmanuel Yashim