MSN published Reggie's editorial calling for the medical release of inmates most at-risk of the effects of COVID-19.
Now more than ever conditional medical release is good for public health and safety, taxpayers and inmates. COVID-19 has spread to county jails, state and federal prisons, and other detention facilities. Media reports indicate humanitarian, compassionate, elderly, and/or medical releases have been approved, under various emergency declarations and guidelines, by various government entities.
To help mitigate the spread of COVID-19, Florida should utilize its existing conditional medical release law to release certain non-violent, elderly, seriously ill, and increasingly vulnerable inmates who pose no public safety threat. The Florida Department of Corrections (FDOC) and the Florida Commission on Offender Review (FCOR) have the statutory authority and inherent discretion to effectuate such releases.
