[Pnews] Jalil Muntaqim tests positive for COVID-19 and is hospitalized in New York

[Prisoner News]

https://sfbayview.com/2020/05/jalil-muntaqim-tests-positive-for-covid-19-and-is-hospitalized-in-new-york/
Jalil
Muntaqim tests positive for COVID-19 and is hospitalized in New York
May 26, 2020
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<https://sfbayview.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Jalil-Muntaqim.jpg>*Jalil
Muntaqim*

*by the Jalil Muntaqim Taskforce*

Jalil Muntaqim (Anthony Bottom) is a Black elder and former member of the
Black Panther Party who has been in prison since 1971. He had been
experiencing early symptoms of COVID-19 over the last few days and was
tested by staff at Sullivan Correctional Facility in New York.

On Monday, May 25, his fever increased and a positive test result caused
his transfer to an Albany hospital. Jalil’s current health crisis is a
clear indication that he needs to be released from custody as soon as
possible. Absent release, his parole-eligible sentence can become a death
sentence.

A writ of habeas corpus on behalf of Jalil requesting relief based on his
heightened vulnerability to contract the virus was filed on Monday, April
13. On April 27, Judge Schick in Sullivan County granted Jalil Muntaqim’s
release. But New York Attorney General Letitia James appealed the judge’s
decision, preventing Jalil’s release.

On April 30, the members of the New York State Black, Puerto Rican,
Hispanic and Asian Legislative Caucus wrote Attorney General Letitia James
in support of the recent court ruling granting the temporary release of
Jalil Muntaqim from custody:

“We are certain you are aware that numerous doctors and public health
experts have publicly concluded that the only way to manage the risk to
incarcerated populations posed by this virus is to rapidly and decisively
release the most vulnerable populations who are at the highest risk. And
unfortunately, COVID-19 has already entered the New York State prison.

“The caucus has previously appealed to the governor in support of Mr.
Bottom’s (Jalil’s) clemency application last year. With the advent of this
pandemic, it is ever more apparent that it is time to allow for his safe
transition back into society.

“This is precisely the correct moment to act – before there are
exponentially-increasing numbers of cases of COVID-19 in prisons and no way
to care for people. The state has an obligation to afford adequate medical
care and livable conditions of confinement in its prison system. As the
virus continues to spread in the prisons, there will be no way to do that,
creating a looming legal and moral liability.”

Despite the caucus’ intervention and Judge Schick’s decision to release
him, Jalil has remained in custody and is now suffering from COVID-19 with
great risk to his life.

*Despite the intervention of the New York State Black, Puerto Rican,
Hispanic and Asian Legislative Caucus and Judge Schick’s decision to
release him, Jalil has remained in custody and is now suffering from
COVID-19 with great risk to his life.*

The United States has the highest number of coronavirus-related deaths in
the world. New York State is the epicenter with the highest number of cases
and mortalities.

Within that, jails and prisoners under New York State’s Department of
Corrections are the epicenters within the epicenter. There are already 492
confirmed cases among incarcerated people and 1,270 among staff in the
state prisons (these numbers do not include Rikers Island and other jails).
Given the lack of widespread testing and the rampant asymptomatic spread,
the numbers of people actually infected are likely much higher.

Roughly 43,000 people – most of whom are Black and Latinx people – are
incarcerated in New York State’s prison system; of these, 9,550 are older
adults, and many are health compromised. It is impossible for prisons to
comply with CDC recommendations on hygiene and social distancing and there
are already 11 confirmed COVID-related deaths of older people in New York
prisons since the beginning of April.

The continued confinement of older and/or health compromised prisoners
fuels the pandemic, not only among incarcerated people but also in the
communities where prison staff live.

Jalil Muntaqim’s release is a public health imperative.

Jalil’s release works in the interest of public health, including the
health and safety of all New Yorkers.

The release of an older and medically vulnerable person from prison is a
public health intervention consistent with the recommendations of medical
and public health experts, legal and academic organizations, and faith
community leaders and criminal justice researchers. Experts agree that
prisons cannot provide protection from COVID-19 infection and that older
incarcerated people and others with underlying conditions are in grave
danger.

Jalil falls squarely in the categories listed by the Centers for Disease
Control as having the highest risk. He is over 65 and suffers from
hypertension, which resulted in a stroke several years ago, as well as from
several chronic respiratory ailments. Not only is his release consistent
with the recommendations of public health experts, but all other imprisoned
New Yorkers with similar vulnerabilities should also be released.

As news outlets have reported, some – though far from enough –
similarly-situated individuals have been released from immigration
detention, local jails and federal prison due to their heightened
vulnerability to COVID-19. Where prison administrators, governors and
others in power have refused to release vulnerable people, courts are
rightly recognizing that immediate release is a life-saving intervention
and that the pandemic is an unprecedented challenge for the criminal legal
system.

It is time for Jalil Muntaqim to come home to his family and his community!

Oral arguments on whether Jalil should be released are scheduled for
Thursday May 28, at 1 p.m. Eastern, 10 a.m. Pacific. To view the
live-stream of the court session, visit the home screen of the court’s
website, www.nycourts.gov/ad3/, and select the box for “Live Court Session
Webcast.”
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