New coronavirus cases in U.S. jails have heightened prisoner’s concerns about an unprepared system, this includes the famous ones. In fear of the coronavirus, R. Kelly, Bill Cosby, Michael Cohen and other convicted celebrity inmates have sought early release from the prison sentences.
There has been a public anxiety concerning the prison system in the United States, jails and prisons could serve as dangerous breeding grounds for the coronavirus and many do not think that the government was prepared for a pandemic.
Lawyers of 82-year-old Cosby, who was found guilty of sexual assault, are filing a motion to get him released from jail and put on house arrest. On Monday, convicted Los Angeles lawyer Michael Avenatti urged a court to release him from prison because he believed that his health could be jeopardized by the spread of the virus. Cohen, Donald Trumps’s former personal attorney, asked a judge if he could serve the rest of his three-year sentence at home.
On Twitter, Cohen posted an online petition by inmates asking authorities to let nonviolent offenders complete their sentences at home. One prisoner at Cohen’s prison in Otisville, N.Y. tested positive.
CORONAVIRUS FAQ: WIKI OF MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
“Ten months into his prison term, it’s time that Cohen accept the consequences of his criminal convictions for serious crimes that had far reaching institutional harms,” the judge told Cohen.
R&B singer R. Kelly, awaiting trial on charges that include sexual exploitation of a minor and child pornography, asked to get out of jail to dodge the spread of the virus. Kelly’s attorney Steve Greenberg argued that at age 53, Kelly is vulnerable to catching COVID-19.
“Requiring people to reside in a custodial jail setting is tantamount to making them drink poison,” Greenberg claimed.
New York City has released 650 inmates from its jails to slow the spread of COVID-19. According to state officials, at least 167 inmates and 114 correction staff have tested positive for the virus.
