Paul Manafort Released From Prison, Will Serve Sentence At Home In Virginia
Paul Manafort was released from jail and will serve the rest of his sentence in home confinement in Virginia.
No word on how much of his remaining sentence he will get to serve at home but if this crisis continues the humane thing to do is let the high-risk non-violent offenders serve home confinement.
The left will howl with rage but that will just prove how vicious they are.
From The Washington Post: Paul Manafort has been granted home confinement to serve his sentence in Alexandria, Va., his lawyer said Wednesday.
The former Trump campaign chairman has been serving time in Pennsylvania’ minimum security Loretto prison for his conviction on fraud charges in 2018. He was set to be released in 2024. But his attorneys in April argued that, in light of the covid-19 pandemic, Manafort should be released to serve out at least a portion of that sentence with his wife in their Northern Virginia condominium.
“Mr. Manafort is 71 years old and suffers from several preexisting health conditions, including high blood pressure, liver disease, and respiratory ailments,” his lawyers wrote.
Manafort was hospitalized for several days in December due to heart problems, they noted, and in February contracted both influenza and bronchitis. Given that history, they said that if he became infected with covid-19 “Mr. Manafort is at a significantly higher risk for serious illness or death.”
From The Hill:
Manafort in mid-April asked to be released from prison early because of the pandemic. Downing said in a letter at the time that Manafort, 71, was at “high risk” of contracting coronavirus due to his age and pre-existing conditions including high blood pressure, liver disease and respiratory ailments.
The former Trump campaign aide was hospitalized for several days in December due to a “cardiac event,” his attorneys noted, adding that he also contracted influenza and bronchitis in February this year.
There have been no COVID-19 cases recorded at FCI Loretto, but sources told ABC News that the prison, which was a former monastery, would be hit hard if the virus struck.
Prisons across the country are allowing some of those sentenced for nonviolent crimes to be released to home confinement, especially for those at risk of contracting the deadly disease.
Attorney General William Barr has encouraged prisons to use home confinement more frequently for older inmates and those with pre-existing conditions.
The Justice Department released clarification for its policy on release to home confinement during the pandemic last month, saying the Bureau of Prisons was prioritizing those who had served half or more of their sentence or had 18 months or less remaining of their sentence.
Manafort had served less than 30 percent of his sentence, but prison officials are given leniency when making decisions for individual cases.
