| Ramel Pierson Sought Release
From MDC Amid Covid 19 But Detained As Flight
Risk
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC
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SDNY COURTHOUSE,
April 9 – Detained inmate
Ramel Pierson on April 9
argued for bail and release
from the Metropolitan
Detention Center in Brooklyn,
through his Criminal Justice
Act lawyer Carla Sanderson
before U.S. District Court for
the Southern District of New
York Judge Laura Taylor Swain.
Assistant US Attorney Danielle
Kudla had filed a redacted
opposition, arguing that
Pierson is "an incurable risk
of flight." She reiterated the
argument, at some length.
Sanderson says she hasn't been
able to speak with Pierson
since putting in his request
for release, but has received
information from the
government. Judge Swain asked,
How could he be released from
MDC without being pick up on
the detainer?
Sanderson replied that he
would be picked up by New
York. But hopefully he would
get out of that as
well.
AUSA Kudla protested, that
would be a transfer from
Federal custody to a state
system with another risk
variable, then back into
Federal - it's a heightened
risk.
Judge Swain remarked, Both the
Federal and state system are
moving people in controlled
way, if they are moving people
at
all.
AUSA Kudla offered that
Pierson had indicated he might
plead guilty to two of the
VOSR specifications, without
Federal supervision to follow.
Sanderson got back to the
issue at hand: Mr. Pierson
feels his life is in danger
where he is. So I feel I am
obligated to go forward with
this bail argument... He would
admit to 2 specifications, so
he's not a flight risk. He's
been homeless.. Bigger
picture, what they do in the
Metropolitan Detention Center
if you have Coronavirus
symptoms is, they put you in
the SHU, the Special Housing
Unit, which they use for
punishment. My client, once he
was in the SHU, wasn't allowed
out for a medical appointment.
Judge Swain cut
in, "We are all at risk from
COVID. I am at risk from
COVID, here out in the
community. But this is not a
debate if someone can be
COVID-proofed in custody. No
one can be."
While it seemed clear how this
was going, Sanderson offered
that Pierson has impacted
wisdom tooth, it needs to be
treated but it is not.
Judge Swain ruled: the
defendant has failed to meet
his burden. His conduct in
terms of flight risk, he
crashed in a high speed
chase.... Under Section
3142(i), his application also
fails. He does not fall into
the high risk of infection
category of the BOP, based on
the CDC. And so he remains
detained, pending discussion
of how to harmonize his state
and Federal proceedings. The
case is US v. Pierson,
14-cr-855 (Swain).
***
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