Feds sending some prisoners to home confinement to curb spread of virus

More than 241 federal inmates and 73 staff members have tested positive for the virus nationwide, and eight inmates have died.

The BOP has already moved about 615 inmates nationally to their homes, and officials are looking at the prison complex in Butner, where more than 60 cases of COVID-19, the illness associated with the virus, have been reported.

"Inmates do not need to apply to be considered for home confinement," spokeswoman Sue Allison said in an email. "While all inmates are being reviewed for suitability, any inmate who believes they are eligible may request to be referred to home confinement and provide a release plan to their case manager."

Priority is being given to inmates with health problems that place them at higher risk for COVID-19.

"It’s a concern to us," Granville County resident David Beck said of the outbreak at Butner, where at least a half-dozen workers are among the confirmed virus cases. "The people that work over there live in this area, around here, and could be in our area."

Family members of inmates also are concerned with the outbreak.

"My heart just dropped. I was shocked," Beau Oare said of receiving an email from his father, Sainte Deon Robinson, about overcrowding at Butner's low-security unit. "There isn’t enough space for these inmates. It’s overcrowded, so there is no room for social distancing at all."

Robinson is serving a 30-month sentence for failing to report and pay employment taxes.

"This is really bad. This is our dad we’re talking about, and I don’t want to grow old without having my father around," Oare said, adding that he believes non-violent inmates like his father should be released.

"Why can’t they just come home? Why can’t they just get out right now and be safe with their family, at least?" he said.

Only eight inmates in North Carolina's state prisons have tested positive for the virus so far, as well as several prison workers.