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August 9, 2013

Judge Hints Lynne Stewart Will Remain in Jail 
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A federal judge hinted he may lack jurisdiction to grant attorney Lynne
Stewart's request for compassionate release from federal prison so she
can die from cancer at home surrounded by her family. Her prison
physician estimates she has less than 18 months to live — a key
requirement for early release. As supporters looked on from a packed
courtroom during arguments Thursday afternoon, Assistant U.S. Attorney
Andrew Dember told the judge: "It's our position that Ms. Stewart has no
authority to make the motion she has made, and your honor has no
authority to consider it ... It is only the director of the Bureau of
Prisons who has the authority." The Bureau denied the request earlier
this year. U.S. District Judge John Koeltl at times appeared sympathetic
to Stewart's request, but told her defense team, "If I grant your
motion, I would be violating the plain words of the statute" instructing
the court on when it can grant early release. At one point during the
hour-long hearing, Judge Koeltl asked the prosecutor: "You don't think
she has a strong argument for compassionate release, do you?" Dember
replied: "There's no doubt Ms. Stewart is ill. No one's disputing Ms.
Stewart's illness, your honor." This is Stewart's husband, Ralph
Poynter's reaction after the arguments.

Ralph Poynter: "The prosecution more or less said, 'Die or not, let's
stick to the letter of the law.' And his interpretation of the letter of
the law is that there was no way for a judge to intercede in the
bureaucratic chain of the prisons. And that is a very difficult pill to
swallow."

[For more on the case, see Thursday's segment on Lynne Stewart]

 

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