Independent Articles
Compassionate Release and COVID-19: Analyzing Inconsistent
Applications of the First Step Act by Federal Courts
Helen Mooney1, Kayla Larkin2 and Mara Howard-Williams2
1Yale School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, CT and 2United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has posed a significant health threat to people in corrections facilities due to communal living, inability to social
distance, and high rates of comorbidity among incarcerated populations. Combined with the First Step Act of 2018, which granted incarcerated
individuals seeking compassionate release access to the courts, the pandemic increased the number of people in federal prisons petitioning for
early release due to health risk. Analysis of federal compassionate release case law throughout the pandemic reveals inconsistent judicial
reasoning related to COVID-19-based requests. Inconsistently interpreted compassionate release factors include vaccination status, COVID-
19 reinfection, and the“degree” of extraordinary circumstances considered. Varied application among federal districts produced inequitable
access to compassionate release. Therefore, this analysis provides insight into how an unclear policy can create disparate public health outcomes
and considerations for compassionate release determinations in future times of uncertainty, such as a pandemic.
Keywords: compassionate release; COVID-19; law; incarceration; policy
New open-access on FirstView: "Compassionate Release and COVID-19: Analyzing Inconsistent Applications of the First Step Act by Federal Courts" by Helen Mooney of
@yalesph.bsky.social, Kayla Larkin and Mara Howard-Williams.
#CompassionateRelease #COVID-19
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