The Daily Beast
Notorious killer wants compassionate release of COVID – after refusing vaccine
Shane Young / APAs millions of Americans desperately sought the COVID-19 vaccine, the former Army Green Berets doctor arrested for the famous “Fatal Vision” murder case was one of at least four prisoners who refused a shot and were still seeking early release because of the virus. Jeffrey MacDonald declined the offer of a Modern vaccine on March 2 at the federal prison in Cumberland, Maryland, where he is serving a life sentence for the 1970 stabbing and beating deaths of his pregnant wife, Colette, and their two daughters, Kristen of 2 years and Kimberly 5 years. But that hasn’t stopped his lawyers from arguing in Raleigh’s federal court on Thursday that kidney problems make him so vulnerable to COVID-19 that he deserves compassionate release. The thought that MacDonald would ask for compassion for anything that outraged his ex-brother-in-law, Bill Stevenson. Tears filled Stevenson’s eyes when he filed a statement about the victim’s impact in court. He showed a picture of Colette from more than half a century ago. “This is the sister I lost,” he told the judge. Stevenson then showed a photo of Kimberly. “This is Kimmy,” he said. “I miss her today. I am her uncle. Stevenson said of MacDonald, “This man should never be allowed to walk the face of the Earth again. What he did is indescribable. Unthinkable. Stevenson later told The Daily Beast: “How can a man who has no compassion for murdering his family and disfiguring their bodies, ask for compassionate release? Stevenson said. “He doesn’t know compassion.” He added: “This is a crime for which there can hardly be enough punishment. He must never walk on the face of the Earth again. He should die. Stevenson reported that his hearing is not as good as before, so he was unable to follow part of the process. But he read the court papers and understood that MacDonald’s petition depends on the killer’s alleged vulnerability to COVID-19. To this end, the government presented a document entitled “NOTICE OF REFUSAL OF VACCINATION OF COVID-19 AND COMPLEMENTARY RESPONSE OPPOSITION TO THE DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR RELEASE COMPAIXÃO”: “The defendant was offered the vaccination COVID-19 on March 2, 2021 and refused it, ”reports the document. “In stating that ‘extraordinary and convincing’ reasons justified his release … MacDonald relied exclusively on his ‘vulnerability to COVID-19’ due to certain risk factors that he identified, including chronic kidney disease, a history of skin cancer and hypertension. ” document notes that while preparing for the prison vaccination program, McDonald had done a rapid antigen test that tested positive for COVID-19 on January 11, 2021. But he had never experienced symptoms and that should not have stopped him “The government is not aware of any evidence that MacDonald falls into the categories of individuals for whom the Modern vaccine is medically contraindicated or even for which precautions are indicated by the CDC’s Clinical Considerations,” says the document. “Available medical records indicate that MacDonald never had a symptomatic case of COVID-19, never received therapy with monoclonal antibodies, did not receive another vaccine within 14 days before the Modern vaccine was offered, did not have an acute non-COVID disease when he offered the Modern vaccine and has no history of allergic reactions to other vaccines, anaphylaxis or other significant allergies – the last of which simply requires a period of monitoring after the vaccine is administered according to the Guidelines. ”The document added:“ In fact, medical associations support vaccination through mRNA vaccines, such as the Modern vaccine for individuals like MacDonald who suffer from chronic kidney disease (“CKD”), given that the perceived benefits of vaccination are significant in light of the known risks of COVID-19 infection for people with CKD. 9. ”In other words, there seems to be nothing to stop MacDonald from accepting the vaccine that would protect him from the virus, if he needed it if the asymptomatic case granted him some measure of immunity. The most logical reason for MacDonald that he didn’t just roll up his sleeve and get shot would be that it would nullify his argument for release due to the threat of the virus. “He’s a fraud,” Stevenson told The Daily Beast. “Both a fraud and a murderer.” At least three and probably more federal inmates have refused shots and sought compassionate release because of COVID-19. John Lohmeier is filing a petition in the federal court in Illinois to get out of a bond fraud conviction in advance, despite twice refusing what so many want. “Medical records indicate that the defendant has already received (and rejected) not one, but two vaccines,” court Court documents note that Lohmeier is in a minimum security prison in Wisconsin, having been convicted in 2016 for “a scheme of securities fraud that resulted in the loss of more than $ 8 million to hundreds of victims. He has been in custody of that sentence since August 30, 2016. “The newspapers scoff at a petition based on a vulnerability that Lohmeier could have ended by simply accepting an offer he twice refused.” The circumstances of this case are neither ‘extraordinary’ nor ‘convincing’ ”, say the newspapers. In other words, it is the fraud of a fraudster, a cheat. And then there’s Xiomara Gonzalez Zambrano, who was sentenced to 63 months in 2018 for delivering 2,591 grams of meth to a gang drug while driving through Iowa with two of her daughters. She requested a compassionate release in August last year because she was vulnerable to COVID. “Although she asks the Court to take immediate steps to reduce her sentence and release her due to the threat of COVID-19, she herself was not prepared to vaccinate against the same disease,” concluded federal judge CJ Williams of Iowa. “Although the defendant has the right to refuse medical treatment, the Court considers that it would be inappropriate to reward his refusal to protect himself by granting his release. It would be paradoxical to endorse a system whereby a defendant could fabricate extraordinary and convincing circumstances for compassionate release, unwarrantedly refusing the health care offered to them. ”And then there’s Cory Williams, who was sentenced to 84 months in a 2018 money laundering conviction in Arizona’s Federal Court. He filed a request in September 2020 for compassionate release from the Federal Correctional Institution Tucson, where more than 40 percent of prisoners had tested positive for COVID-19. “The rate of COVID-19 cases among incarcerated individuals was more than four times higher than in the US population and the death rate was twice as high,” noted Arizona federal judge Douglas Rayes. “The defendant states in his motion that there is a lack of common sense precautions employed in the FCI Tucson facility.” Williams argued that he was at particular risk because he is obese, suffers from asthma and has a heart murmur. The defendant did not present any facts that contradict his government’s description as’ a healthy 43-year-old man who is slightly overweight and appears to suffer from a mild case of asthma, ”concluded Reyes. “Records show that he has a mild case of exercise-induced asthma. He hasn’t needed an inhaler in over ten years, and he only squeaks when exercising. The defendant has no evidence that a heart murmur has been classified as a condition that puts him at greater risk if he is infected with the COVID-19 virus. Williams’ petition was already unstable when he appeared in court for oral arguments in late January. “The defendant admitted in court that on January 6, 2021, the vaccine was offered to him, but he refused it,” noted Reyes. “The Court considers his explanation for the refusal, that he did not trust the Food and Drug Administration’s emergency use authorization process, to be incredible, in light of his claim that the risk of a serious illness caused by the COVID- 19 is an extraordinary and convincing reason for his immediate release. “Reyes’ decision on February 1 should not have come as a surprise.” IT IS ORDINATED that the Defendant’s Emergency Motion to Reduce the Sentence … Compassionate Release (Including Release Due to COVID-19) … IS DENIED. ”When it came to Jeffrey MacDonald on Thursday, Judge Terrence Boyle was not prepared to make a quick and reserved decision. This is a famous case and, as the News Observer noted, the judge was asked to correct the prosecutor when he said it happened 50 years ago. “Fifty-one years old,” said Boyle. “It was February 17, 1970.” Stevenson came home saying he was happy to have made the trip. “The goal was to really put a face on the people who were taken apart by him,” he told The Daily Beast. not happy that MacDonald’s lawyers have begun to imply that his client is innocent, citing unparalleled hair often discussed, allegedly found at the crime scene. “Every person’s home anywhere in the world has other people’s hair,” said Stevenson. He praised the government for taking such good care of it. “I left a hat at my hotel,” he said. “They sent someone to pick it up.” He had on his hat and also with a cane that he had briefly lost with him while eating a hamburger at the airport. His wife, Vivian, 80, was waiting for him at home in Massachusetts. When she spoke to The Daily Beast earlier in the day, Vivian also spit out the language of MacDonald’s petition. “Compassionate?” Vivian asked. “Release?” Her son and daughter were about the same age as the murdered cousins, and suddenly they were gone. “They used to play together,” said Vivian. “They used to bathe together. I had to lie. I said, ‘They are in Germany.’ ”Vivian and her husband are at an age when they had as many opportunities as a federal inmate to get an injection. Both had taken theirs. One concern they still have about the virus is that MacDonald will somehow be able to control the pandemic in an early release. “I don’t want him out of prison,” said Bob Stevenson on Thursday night. “Not always.” Read more at The Daily Beast. Do you have a tip? Submit to The Daily Beast here. Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Subscribe now! Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper into the stories that matter to you. To know more.