Manchin, Capito join chorus of opponents to moving potential COVID-19 prisoners to Hazelton, Gilmer facilities

The possible relocation efforts from the Washington, D.C., area involve up to 250 prisoners and are believed to include COVID-19 cases that are asymtomatic, WV News reported Friday.

Union officials at the federal prison in Preston County alerted McKinley’s office, as well as WV News’ The Preston News & Journal, which broke the story.

As the News & Journal’s Theresa Marthey reported, Richard Heldreth, president of Local 420 of the American Federation of Government Employees, representing workers at the prison, wrote in an email that he was originally told a transfer of hundreds of inmates from Washington, D.C., to Hazelton was due to overcrowding in the system.

“I have since discovered that this was not the case,” Heldreth wrote. “The real reason appears to be that the D.C. system is experiencing a large outbreak of COVID-19.”

Capito’s letter to the Federal Bureau of Prisons said she understood the agency’s concerns and efforts, but she felt the transfer was ill-advised and unfair to the personnel and the communities in which they work and live.

“The impact of this pandemic continues to show no boundaries, and it has hit our judicial system as well. While I strongly oppose the release of prisoners from their sentences and understand the need for transfers within the system, I have become increasingly concerned for the health and safety of the men and women at FCI Hazelton and FCI Gilmer, as well as their families and surrounding community,” Capito wrote.

“We have been extremely fortunate that we have not had a coronavirus outbreak in either of these facilities, and we cannot risk one now. I respect the analysis by the BOP, but too many brave West Virginians who work long hours in an already dangerous environment have expressed their concern about this potential transfer. “As such, I am asking the BOP to heed the call to halt these transfers on behalf of the health and safety of these West Virginians as we continue to fight this pandemic,” she wrote.

Manchin was even more direct, calling on BOP leaders to quickly quash the plan. He even suggested that if there’s excess room in federal prisons in West Virginia, the BOP should allow state prisoners to be transferred there.

And he took the added step of addressing his concerns in a letter directly to U.S. Attorney General William Barr, asking him to stop the transfer.

“West Virginians have buckled down and closely followed state and federal guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19 here in the Mountain State, and that’s why I am strongly opposing the transfer of out-of-state prisoners to West Virginia,” Manchin wrote. “... I am deeply troubled by plans the Bureau of Prisons are considering to transport new inmates from COVID-19 hotspot regions of the country to West Virginia for quarantine. This move puts our already vulnerable population and our correctional officers and their families at greater risk of exposure to COVID-19.

“I am imploring BOP to reassess their plans and instead help our state through this challenging time by using the excess capacity at FCC Hazelton and FCI Gilmer to help relieve the overcrowding in our state jails and waiving the cost of housing the inmates for the duration of the pandemic. This act of compassion by BOP would greatly benefit the people of West Virginia while we continue to fight this terrible virus.”