The court denied a motion for bond where the individual was charged with two counts of murder while engaged in narcotics trafficking and one count of conspiracy to commit murder. The court found that the individual failed to rebut the presumption of flight risk that attached in narcotics cases where the potential sentence was life or death given his extensive criminal history, including a conviction for witness intimidation. The court found that COVID-19 was not a compelling reason to permit release because the individual had no pre-existing respiratory conditions, his existing health conditions had been well managed over the last fourteen months of incarceration, and there were no reported COVID-19 positive cases in MDC at that time.
United States v. Hamilton, 19-CR-54-01 (NGG), 2020 WL 1323036 (E.D.N.Y. Mar. 20, 2020)
DETAILS
Decision
Date
3/20/2020
Practice Area
Criminal (Federal Charges)
Relief Requested
Other, Release, Delaying Reporting
Type of Court
Federal District Court
Location
New York
Type of Case
Individual
Case Characteristics
Elderly, Post-Conviction Detention [jail or prison], Pre-Existing Health Conditions, Pretrial Detention [jail]
Release Granted
No
Compassionate Release Case
No
Case Tracking Number
19-CR-54-01-NGG
MORE CASE INFORMATION
Court Name
E.D.N.Y.
Decision
Motion Denied
Place of Incarceration
Federal Detention Center [typically federal pretrial detention]
Compassionate Release Exhaustion Holdingsin Federal Case
Exhaustion is subject to equitable exceptions.
Pre-Existing Health Conditions
Age, Asthma, Cancer, Diabetes, Hypertension (high blood pressure), Medication-Related Immunocompromise, Other, Dementia, history of strokes and heart attacks
Pre-Existing Health Conditions Notes
Advanced age, history of heart attacks and strokes
COVID-19 Positive or Symptomatic
No
Charges
Murder while engaged in narcotics trafficking, 21 U.S.C. § 848(e)(1)(A); conspiracy to commit murder while engaged in narcotics trafficking, 21 U.S.C. § 846.
COVID-19 in Jail Prison or Detention Center
No
Litigation Database
Crowdsourced legal documents from around the country related to COVID-19 and incarceration, organized, collected, and summarized for public defenders, litigators, and other advocates. Created and managed by Bronx Defenders, Columbia Law School’s Center for Institutional and Social Change, UCLA Law COVID-19 Behind Bars Data Project, and Zealous. Mostly federal court opinions, but now expanding to states and legal filings, declarations, and exhibits.
This resource is designed to help lawyers, advocates, researchers, journalists, and others interested in challenging, remedying, or drawing attention to the grave risk that Covid-19 poses to individuals who are detained.