N.Y. Federal Judge Urges Congress to Take Action Regarding COVID-19 Danger to Inmates

NEW YORK — A New York federal judge is urging Congress and the Executive Branch to take action regarding the dangers posed by COVID-19 to inmates, explaining that under the current law, judges’ ability to grant release to prisoners is too limited.

In a March 31 order, Judge Jesse Furman of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York explained that “Congress has given judges only limited tools, and there are many inmates — certainly those who have just been sentenced, and potentially the vast majority of inmates serving sentences previously imposed — for whom judicial relief …