Federal appeals court stops earlier order, says Texas doesn't have to give inmates hand sanitizer or

[TexasTowelie]

by Jolie McCullough, Texas Tribune


A federal appeals court has halted a lower court’s order for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to provide hand sanitizer and face masks for inmates at a geriatric prison during the pandemic.

On Wednesday, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily blocked U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison’s order while it reviews the case. The appellate judges said the prison agency was likely to win the appeal in part because it was already making efforts to contain the virus inside its lockups before legal intervention.

Older inmates at the Pack Unit sued the prison department in late March over its handling of the new coronavirus, arguing that its pandemic policies were inadequate and how they were being enacted at the unit was worse. This month, one inmate at the prison died hours after being taken to the hospital for difficulty breathing and was found to have the virus after his death.

Last week, Ellison handed down a lengthy list of orders for TDCJ to follow to provide better care for the vulnerable inmates at the Pack Unit as the coronavirus spreads in lockups. Nearly 600 Texas prisoners, of about 900 reported to have been tested, have tested positive for the virus, according to TDCJ reports. At least five prisoners and two correctional officers have died, likely from COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the virus.

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2020/04/22/texas-prisoners-hand-sanitizer-appeal/

[sinkingfeeling]

1. The 5th. Circuit Court is now completely full of RWNJs.

[Gothmog]

2. Arggh

The 5th circuit has issued some horrible rulings