6ix9ine will not be released from prison early, into home confinement or otherwise, even though he is more at risk of contracting coronavirus due to pre-existing conditions, including asthma.
An order from Judge Paul A. Engelmayer arrived Wednesday, reading, “Had the Court known that sentencing Mr. Hernandez to serve the final four months of his term in a federal prison would have exposed him to a heightened health risk, the Court would have directed that these four months be served instead in home confinement," the order concludes. "The Court accordingly denies Mr. Hernandez’s motion for relief.”
In the court documents, the judge explains that the decision is up to the Bureau of Prisons, and that he has provided his opinion so that it “may be instructive guidance to the Bureau of Prisons in considering an application by Mr. Hernandez for release on home confinement.”
The order continues, “At the time of sentencing, however, the Court did not know and could not have known that the final four months of Mr. Hernandez’s sentence would be served at a time of a worldwide pandemic to which persons with asthma, like Mr. Hernandez, have heightened vulnerability.”
6ix9ine’s lawyer filed for early release on March 22, citing the rapper’s asthma and additional diagnoses of sinusitis (a sinus infection) and bronchitis from late 2019. His attorney wrote at the time, “Given the significant risk to such individuals and the alarming contagious nature of the virus, New York City Corrections and the New York State Courts are taking steps to release inmates who are at high risk from this virus. I understand that 40-50 such inmates have either been released or will be released in response to this concern.”
The government subsequently objected to the lawyer’s request and argued that the court doesn’t have the authority to make such a decision.
Back in January, Tekashi asked to serve the rest of his prison sentence at home, but was rejected on the grounds that such a decision wouldn’t “reflect the seriousness of his crimes,” according to court docs.
