Jail in virus hot spot holds dozens authorized for release

SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — A Maryland jail in a COVID-19 hot spot is detaining more than 100 prisoners who have been authorized or ordered by a court to be released, according to civil rights attorneys who sued over jail conditions during the pandemic.

The Prince George’s County Jail is holding at least 113 prisoners who have been authorized for release by a state court but haven’t been cleared for release by the county’s pretrial services department, plaintiffs’ lawyers said in a court filing Monday.

The county draws a distinction between court-authorized and court-ordered releases. Its lawyers say nobody has been detained in violation of a court order.

However, plaintiffs' attorneys say four additional prisoners were ordered released by a court but remained detained as of Monday. Another prisoner was ordered released in January but wasn’t released until May 11, the lawyers said.

“It’s baffling that they don’t seem to see orders as orders,” Civil Rights Corps senior attorney Katie Chamblee-Ryan said Tuesday.

Prince George’s County, which abuts the nation’s capital, has had 12,240 confirmed COVID-19 cases, the most of any Maryland county, and 424 confirmed deaths as of Tuesday, according to the state Health Department.

On April 21, Civil Rights Corps attorneys filed a federal class action that claims the jail failed to stop an “uncontrolled” coronavirus outbreak or properly care for infected prisoners. The lawsuit says prisoners who tested positive for COVID-19 were isolated in cells with walls covered in feces, mucus and blood.

The county Corrections Department must ensure that its electronic monitoring criteria and other procedures are met before a prisoner can be released, said Jeff Logan, chief of the department’s population...