Supreme Court Rejects Elderly Texas Inmates on Covid Steps

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: Bloomberg

Politics

Supreme Court Rejects Elderly Texas Inmates on Covid Steps

By Greg Stohr
November 16, 2020, 3:20 PM EST Updated on November 16, 2020, 4:02 PM EST

-- Dissenters Sotomayor, Kagan warn of ‘needless suffering’
-- High court has generally refused to second-guess prisons

The U.S. Supreme Court refused to reinstate a judge’s order that had required a Texas prison for elderly inmates to take specific steps to protect against the coronavirus outbreak.

The justices on Monday rejected calls by inmates Laddy Valentine and Richard King, who said the Wallace Pack Unit in southeastern Texas isn’t doing enough to protect them from infection. They contended a federal appeals court was wrong to block the safety measures.

The Supreme Court gave no explanation. Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan dissented, saying 20 inmates have already died after contracting Covid-19. ... “If the prison fails to enforce social distancing and mask wearing, perform regular testing, and take other essential steps, the inmates can do nothing but wait for the virus to take its toll,” Sotomayor wrote for the pair. She said she feared “further, needless suffering.”

The high court turned away a similar request from the Wallace prisoners in May. The Supreme Court has generally declined to second-guess prisons on the steps they take to guard against the spread of the coronavirus.

{snip}

Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-11-16/supreme-court-rejects-elderly-texas-inmates-on-covid-19-steps

---

SCOTUSblog Retweeted

https://twitter.com/SCOTUSblog

#SCOTUS will not require Texas prison officials to implement #COVID-19 safety procedures at geriatric prison where 20 have died. Sotomayor dissents, joined by Kagan: https://supremecourt.gov/opinions/20pdf/20a70_e2p3.pdf

Link to tweet

[NoMoreRepugs]

1. Seriously, what thinking person would expect anything but this decision from RePutinicans???

[FBaggins]

3. Breyer appears to have agreed with the decision

As a legal matter, the decision isn't surprising at all. A district court made a ruling that was unanimously stayed pending appeal by an appellate court specifically because it was unlikely to stand. It's incredibly rare for SCOTUS to block such a stay when the appellate court hasn't even heard the case yet.

[Scalded Nun]

2. This is Texas. What else would you expect from Texas and now the RW majority?

[Polybius]

4. So only two dissents?

Why would Breyer support this?

[pecosbob]

5. Word I heard is that the Duncan Unit in Diboll, TX has a six percent mortality rate

This unit holds older geriatric prisoners. Nine prisoners who died had already been granted parole.