Lawyer: Release Bernie Madoff, others during virus outbreak at Butner prison

Infamous con man Bernie Madoff is at high risk of dying from the coronavirus and needs to be released from federal prison in Butner, where a major outbreak of the virus continues to spread, his lawyer said Friday.

Posted 6:46 p.m. Apr 10, 2020 — Updated 6:46 p.m. Apr 10, 2020

Joe Fisher

, WRAL reporter

BUTNER, N.C. — Infamous con man Bernie Madoff is at high risk of dying from the coronavirus and needs to be released from federal prison in Butner, where a major outbreak of the virus continues to spread, his lawyer said Friday.

"He is very frail. He is in a wheelchair. His health has gone in significant decline," attorney Brandon Sample said in a telephone interview.

Madoff, 81, is serving a 150-year sentence for money laundering, perjury and falsifying financial documents. He orchestrated the largest Ponzi scheme in history, using the prestigious asset management firm he ran in Manhattan to cheat thousands of people out of billions of dollars.

The complex at Butner has the largest outbreak of the virus among federal prisons nationwide, according to Bureau of Prisons statistics. Fifty-nine inmates and 17 staff members have tested positive.

"The Bureau of Prisons should utilize its existing statutory authority liberally in order to protect the inmate population that is committed to its care," Sample said, adding that he believes the number of infections is higher than what's been reported.

“Prisons are like little cities, and these populations would otherwise probably not be subject to the virus, but you have staff and they go home. They are in the community. They are the ones really bringing this stuff into the institution," he said.

U.S. Attorney General William Barr, saying he didn't want federal prisons to become "petri dishes," last month urged the BOP to put more nonviolent offenders, especially older ones, on home confinement to help curb the spread of the virus.

But Sample said he hasn't seen much action on that recommendation, noting that such moves are at the discretion of administrators at each prison.

"I don't expect that the Bureau of Prisons is going to utilize its statutory authority to release Mr. Madoff to home confinement," he said. "So, to the extent that he would receive any kind of relief based on his particular susceptibility to death as the result of the virus would have to come from his sentencing court."

He filed a motion in February seeking "compassionate release" based on Madoff's health – he has terminal kidney failure – and he said he plans to file a second motion Monday based on the danger the virus poses to Madoff.

"There is no negative with releasing Mr. Madoff," Sample said. "He is very sick. He is old. He has been incarcerated for a number of years. He has paid quite dearly for his mistakes. He has accepted responsibility for those mistakes, and, in fact, there is a good number of people who are victims of his offense who even themselves have told the court that they believe he should be released."

Federal prosecutors have opposed Madoff's release, noting hundreds of his victims have written statements against his release.

"I don’t see how we, as a society, continue to benefit from incarcerating someone like that, and especially in these kinds of times and circumstances where we have this pandemic that is spreading not only in society but in our federal prisons," Sample said.

Madoff has essentially been in hospice care at Butner's prison medical center.

"You don't get to a federal medical center unless you're very sick," Sample said. "There are a lot of very, very sick people there – very, very sick – and if this virus gets into that environment, it’s not going to be pretty."

Suggest A Correction