Coronavirus response: Some low-level, non-violent inmates being released from Sacramento jails

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Concerned about crowded conditions that may exacerbate a coronavirus crisis in the jail system, Sacramento County sheriff’s officials began releasing non-violent inmates Tuesday night from jails.

The releases so far amount only to a handful of inmates and only apply to individuals within 30 days of their scheduled release date, said Sgt. Tess Deterding, a spokeswoman for Sheriff Scott Jones.

“This is not like a mass exodus,” Deterding said Wednesday. “It’s very small and meticulous. They are evaluating each person’s mental health and whether they have the recourse to function once they are let out the door, especially with what’s going on right now.”

Deterding emphasized that only inmates convicted of non-violent, non-serious crimes are eligible for the program, which was approved by a Sacramento Superior Court judge late Tuesday. Some inmates with felony convictions for offenses such as drug counts may be eligible, she said.

“They have to be sentenced, not on the way to prison or on hold for a parole violation or a serious or violent felony,” she said.

Sheriff’s officials concerns were amplified by the county’s public defenders who warned of the health crisis looming behind bars if early releases weren’t granted.

‘An astonishing time’

Sacramento County Public Defender Steven Garrett – in a 44-page motion filed Wednesday in Sacramento Superior Court and buttressed by a letter signed by more than 90 physicians and health professionals – said the Sacramento courts can save lives by shrinking the rolls of the county’s overcrowded jails.

“This is an astonishing time which tests the robustness of the criminal justice system and the mettle of those of us who serve it,” Garrett wrote. “Thousands of people are confined in close quarters in our county jails, creating a danger not only to themselves, but to those who must attend to them, to their families and to the community at large.”

Public Defender’s Office attorneys were set to argue the motion in individual cases in jailhouse courtrooms, Garrett said Wednesday afternoon.

“This pandemic health crisis is forcing our justice system to confront a problem we should have confronted long ago. Sacramento County has an over-incarceration problem,” Garrett argued in the filing, saying the people to be released are lower-risk detainees.

Sacramento County Main Jail in downtown Sacramento houses approximately 1,900 inmates in 1,250 cells originally designed to hold single prisoners, Garrett said in the motion. Another 1,700 are held at Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center near Elk Grove, above its 1,625-inmate capacity, he said.

“By not substantially reducing the jail population, we increase the risk to the entire community,” Garrett’s motion continued, saying the network of law enforcement, medical personnel and assorted staff along with their families are potentially at risk. “The jail system is not a closed, sterile environment. We must flatten the curve in the jail system. By allowing the jail system to operate at single-cell capacity, the court can save lives.”

Deterding said the concept for the releases came up as the Sheriff’s Office was discussing with court officials how best to address the COVID-19 spread, which already has shut down social jail visits and Sacramento Superior Courts.

No inmates at the Main Jail downtown or at the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center have tested positive for coronavirus, she said, but sheriff’s officials wanted to be certain there is room in the jails to separate inmates and provide for isolation areas, if necessary.

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“The courts said, ‘OK, we’ll consider that,’ and they ended up reaching out to the District Attorney’s Office and the Public Defender’s Office, and that’s how this came about,” she said.

Neither of those offices objected, she said, adding that the releases are similar to what the Sheriff’s Office refers to as a “three-day kick,” a policy that allows the sheriff to free certain inmates within three days of their scheduled release date.

Number of inmates to be released is unknown

The new court order allows the release of certain inmates who are within 30 days of being let out, she said, and gives the sheriff the option of doing so.

“The order is not ordering us to do it,” she said.

The Sheriff’s Office was still working Wednesday to determine how many inmates are eligible and how many may be released, Deterding said.

The policy comes as other jurisdictions are considering similar actions, and as the American Civil Liberties Union has sent requests to law enforcement officials and governors nationwide seeking commutations and other relief for incarcerated individuals.

Among the ACLU’s requests:

▪ Commuting sentences of anyone the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified “as particularly vulnerable whose sentence would end in the next two years, to anyone whose sentence would end in the next year, and to anyone currently being held on a technical (crimeless) supervision violation.”

▪ That police halt arrests for minor offenses or issue tickets in lieu of arrests.

▪ And that judges allow defendants to face hearings by telephone or video conference.

“Public health experts recognize that there is a heightened risk of infection for people who are involved in the criminal legal system and that downsizing the footprint of the criminal legal system should be a part of the COVID-19 public health response,” said Udi Ofer, director of the ACLU’s Justice Division.

“Jails are incubators for disease,” said Martin Horn, distinguished lecturer in corrections at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York and executive director of the New York State Sentencing Commission. “Nobody was prepared for this, so why are we surprised that jails weren’t? Jails are prepared for chicken pox, measles, tuberculosis, but what they’re really afraid of is the health system being overwhelmed.”

Sonoma County will do the same

Sonoma County plans to release inmates in response to the COVID-19 threat, District Attorney Jill Ravitch told The Sacramento Bee on Wednesday. Ravitch met with the county’s public defender earlier Wednesday and will soon receive a list of candidates for release.

Sonoma County holds an average of 1,100 inmates a day. As much as 20 percent of that population could be freed.

Many, Ravitch said, will fall into four categories of low-risk inmates: those who can be safely released; seniors whose age places them at high risk of contracting the virus in the close quarters of jail custody; the immuno-compromised; and those serving misdemeanor sentences.

Ravitch said public safety and public health weigh heavily on the decision to release inmates.

“We don’t want to release anybody if they are a risk to the community,” she said. “Our jail is doing an outstanding job of screening people who are coming in, but (releasing inmates) will reduce stress on the jail as well as the risk” of community spread in lockup.

Horn of John Jay College said county sheriffs, district attorneys and public defenders constantly weigh risks and threats to public safety when considering early releases. Has the person committed a violent crime or have a history of violent crime? Is another in jail for less serious offenses, say, shoplifting or drug possession? If an inmate is released with a promise to appear, will that person return to court?

“The people making these decisions are taking those things into consideration. There’s no magic to it. There’s always a risk. The question is, ‘How much risk am I willing to accept?’ There’s an element of common sense to it,” Horn said. “The officials who make these decisions are elected officials. They won’t make decisions that jeopardize the public’s confidence in them.”

Sonoma County Superior Court has drastically reduced its court operations in response to the virus. Since Monday, all criminal matters have been heard in two courtrooms. When it is prudent, Ravitch said, attorneys are calling for defendants’ release at the bench.

“This is a time that I don’t think anybody has experienced before and we’re all in this together,” Ravitch said. “We want to protect the rights of the accused and the safety of the public.”