Judge: Expedite review of virus in federal prison

An expedited review of prisoners at an Ohio federal prison who are subject to being infected by covid-19 was underway Thursday, in response to a federal judge’s order, and may affect the status of former Arkansas County sheriff’s deputy Charles Chastain, who is serving a 2½-year sentence there.

Chastain, 49, began serving his sentence in August at the Elkton Federal Correctional Center in Lisbon, Ohio, which has the largest outbreak of covid-19 cases among federal prisons in the country. The prison has 51 inmates and 49 staff members who have tested positive, according to the Bureau of Prisons. There have been six inmate deaths.

The outbreak prompted the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio to file a lawsuit demanding the release of vulnerable, nonviolent prisoners, leading Judge James Gwin to require the prison on Tuesday to immediately identify at-risk inmates, based on age or medical condition.

Chastain was convicted in February 2019 by a federal jury in Little Rock of extortion for pressuring an informant he supervised to steal an all-terrain vehicle for him in late 2017, when he was a volunteer deputy.

On April 10, attorney Molly Sullivan of the federal public defender’s office for the Eastern District of Arkansas asked Chief U.S. District Judge D. Price Marshall Jr. to release Chastain early because he has moderate asthma that makes him susceptible to covid-19 and, she argued, could become a death sentence for him if he gets infected.

The U.S. Attorney’s office opposed the request last week, arguing that Chastain hadn’t yet exhausted his administrative remedies because the warden hadn’t yet answered his request. The prosecutors also downplayed his asthma and reported obesity, and argued that his early release “is not warranted,” citing the punitive nature of prison. Sullivan responded Tuesday that courts across the country have made exceptions to the exhaustion requirement in light of the covid-19 pandemic.

She also described Chastain’s “lengthy history of asthma,” which began after he served in Iraq as a member of the military, and said 60% of his 90% military disability rating is attributable to bronchial asthma.

Sullivan also cited a Pennsylvania district judge’s order in another inmate’s case noting that “Elkton is filled to capacity, appears to have few tests” for the virus, and houses inmates in large groups without adequate hygienic supplies.

On Thursday, federal prosecutors asked Marshall to put a hold on deciding Chastain’s request until at least the close of business Friday, citing the Ohio federal judge’s order that may affect Chastain. The order requires the prison to immediately evaluate the eligibility of at-risk inmates belonging to specific sub-classes, based on age or medical condition, to transfer out of the prison through various means within two weeks.

Federal prosecutors in Little Rock said they spoke to prison officials at Elkton and learned that Chastain doesn’t qualify based on age, but may fall into the “health risks” category of prisoners who can be transferred out. They asked Marshall to refrain from ruling in Chastain’s case until his assessment at Elkton is complete, which is expected by this afternoon.

They noted that meanwhile, the warden has officially denied Chastain’s request for early release.

Marshall granted the request Thursday afternoon, saying he will withhold a ruling “pending developments and a further report about them.”

Sullivan quickly responded, asking Marshall not to wait on the prison’s determination.

“In light of the facts before it, this Court can make a decision now,” she argued, adding, “time is of the essence.”

She asked that Chastain be transferred to home confinement — one of the transfer situations identified in the Ohio judge’s order — for a year, followed by the three years of supervised release that was already ordered for him at sentencing.