The court granted Haena Park compassionate release pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A) primarily because of the widespread COVID-19 outbreak at FCI Danbury (32 staff and 15 inmates tested positive, including one death), Park’s significant preexisting medical conditions (severe asthma, mast cell activation disorder Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, dysautonomia, and a brain aneurysm), and the fact that she still remained at FCI Danbury over two weeks after having been approved for home confinement by the BOP. In addition, the court concluded that the § 3553(a) factors weighed in favor of granting release; although Park’s conviction was significant (defrauding more than 40 individuals of $23 million) and she had served less than half of her sentence (16 out of 36 months), the offense was her first, was nonviolent, and she appeared to pose little risk of recidivism. Lastly, the government initially opposed Park’s motion on exhaustion grounds, but eventually agreed to waive the requirement, given the urgency of the health threat.
United States v. Park, No. 16-CR-473, 2020 WL 1970603 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 24, 2020)
DETAILS
Decision
Date
4/24/2020
Practice Area
Criminal (Federal Charges)
Relief Requested
Release
Type of Court
Federal District Court
Location
New York
Type of Case
Individual
Case Characteristics
Post-Conviction Detention [jail or prison], Pre-Existing Health Conditions
Release Granted
Yes
Compassionate Release Case
Yes
Case Tracking Number
16-cr-00473-RA
MORE CASE INFORMATION
Court Name
S.D.N.Y.
Decision
Motion Granted
Place of Incarceration
Federal Prison
Name of Facility
FCI Danbury
Legal Authority
First Step Act Exhaustion, First Step Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)
Release Conditions
Supervised release; home confinement until June 19, 2021, the date on which she was expected to complete her custodial sentence
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.