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The Justice Department said Wednesday that federal prison officials could consider inmates for early release even if they haven’t yet served half of their sentences, clarifying a shifting policy that has sown confusion across the nation’s prisons and courts in recent days. Dozens of inmates who had been granted early release as part of an effort to stem the spread of the coronavirus were told this week they hadn’t served enough time to qualify, according to prisoners and court filings. Inmates, prosecutors and federal judges demanded prison officials explain their rules and criteria for releasing inmates during the pandemic. (Gurman and O'Brien, 4/22)

A judge has ordered the release or transfer of hundreds of elderly and vulnerable inmates at a federal prison in Ohio that has seen a particularly deadly and widespread outbreak of the coronavirus. Although federal courts have been flooded in recent days with release and resentencing requests in individual cases, the ruling Wednesday from U.S. District Court Judge James Gwin appeared to be the first that could lead to a group release of federal convicts as a result of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. (Gerstein, 4/22)

A federal appeals court has halted a judge's ruling that inmates at a geriatric prison outside Houston should have expanded access to masks and soap and a plan for testing for COVID-19. A three-judge panel from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals critiqued the injunction by a veteran Houston judge , saying his order last week “regulates in minute detail the cleaning intervals for common areas, the types of bleach-based disinfectants the prison must use, the alcohol content of hand sanitizer that inmates must receive, mask requirements for inmates, and inmates’ access to tissues” surpassing CDC guidelines. (Banks, 4/22)

Ten more prisoners in Iowa were reported Wednesday as having tested positive for coronavirus, tripling the number of known infections in the state's prison system. The announcement prompted the leader of the largest employee union that represents state employees to call for comprehensive testing within the prison system. Iowa could be on the cusp of a far more serious outbreak like one in Ohio, where a single facility has more than 1,800 confirmed cases, he warned. (Davis, 4/22)

A former Indiana pharmaceutical executive who was sentenced last year for conspiracy and adulterating drugs says he is at high risk of becoming severely ill or dying from the novel coronavirus and wants to be released from federal prison, according to court documents. Attorneys for Paul Elmer filed an emergency motion April 1 asking U.S. Southern District Judge James Sweeney to enter an order releasing the 69-year-old to home detention at his home in Florida. A memo filed in support of the motion says Elmer suffers from medical conditions that make him severely susceptible to the COVID-19 virus. (Hill, 4/23)

A federal judge has denied a request by three men seeking to force the St. Tammany Parish Jail to immediately enact social distancing rules in holding cells aimed at preventing the spread of the coronavirus among immates at the facility. (Pagones, 4/22)