Illinois Department of Corrections
1301 Concordia Court
P.O. Box 19277
Springfield, IL 62794-9277
Re: Thomas McMillan Reg. No. B-23934
Medical Furlough Request Pursuant to Executive Order 2020-21, 730 ILCS 5/3-11-1
Director Jeffreys:
I write to make an emergency request that, under Executive Order 2020-21 issued by Governor Pritzker on April 6, 2020, you grant medical furlough to Pontiac Correctional Center resident Thomas McMillan. Mr. McMillan is 69 years old. He suffers from COPD, is frequently short of breath, and heavily uses an inhaler. Pontiac is on lockdown and has at least one positive case. IDOC generally now has well over 200 confirmed cases of coronavirus connected to the prisons, with multiple deaths. Our information suggests that the reported cases are the tip of the iceberg, and that institutions like Pontiac are not far behind places like Statesville where anyone with our client’s medical history is at serious risk.
Thomas McMillan is an elderly man. He has been incarcerated for 30 years. He has COPD, which is the medical condition most likely to create complications from COVID-19 infection.
People who suffer from COPD are more likely to develop severe disease or be admitted to an ICU as a result of a COVID-19 infection even than folks with diseases like high blood pressure or diabetes.1 The Governor’s Executive Order notes that inmates “are especially vulnerable to contracting and spreading COVID-19,” and that individuals who are older or have chronic health conditions are “at a higher risk of experiencing more severe illness as a result of COVID-19.” Unless your office sees fit to promptly provide Mr. McMillan a medical furlough, he is at a high risk of contracting COVID-19, and of suffering severe complications and death if he does.
It is relevant to this request that Mr. McMillan is innocent of the crimes for which he has been convicted. Ever since his conviction he has fought to obtain post-conviction relief, and has developed significant evidence of his innocence. He currently has a petition for post-conviction relief pending in the Illinois courts, and a petition for executive clemency before the Governor. Simultaneous with this request he has filed a request with the Governor’s office to expedite consideration of that motion so he can return home and be protected during this difficult time.
While Mr. McMillan waits for other possible sources of relief, a medical furlough is appropriate and necessary to ensure he can have his day in court. Mr. McMillan has always had strong family support, and if granted furlough would stay with his sister Debbie Hudson, a lifelong resident of Central Illinois who stays at 860 West Nicholas Street in Carlinville, Illinois, and who can be reached at (217) 854-2040. Her home is large enough to quarantine Mr. McMillan in a separate part of the house during any medical furlough. Mr. McMillan’s family would be able to feed, clothe, and house him for the duration of his stay, as well as help him comply with any additional terms of medical furlough such as electronic monitoring or reporting. In addition, our project, The Exoneration Project, has dedicated staff, including a Case Manager, who are responsible for client services. Our legal team will be available to help him with any medical or other needs that arise during medical furlough, and to help ensure he can comply with any conditions set by the Department in granting his release.
We are not aware that Mr. McMillan has any notable disciplinary history in IDOC, and he is highly motivated to comply with any terms of medical furlough because what he wants most of all is the opportunity to participate in court proceedings, he believes will finally allow him to go home permanently. He has every incentive to comply with any terms of medical furlough. Because he has post-conviction litigation pending, we believe will ultimately result in his release, it would work a particular injustice if he were to contract, or possibly die from, COVID-19 while in IDOC custody.
We do not believe you need any authorization to access Mr. McMillan’s medical records maintained by the Illinois Department of Corrections, and we note that the United States Department of Health and Human Services has issued a COVID-19 and HIPAA Bulletin, which states that “the HIPAA Privacy Rule allows patient information to be shared to assist in nationwide public health emergencies, and to assist patients in receiving the care they need.” If you need to seek from Mr. McMillan a HIPAA release to consider this request you have the authorization, approval and blessing of our client and our project to do submit a HIPAA release for his signature. Thank you very much for considering this additional request in light of the extraordinary public health emergency in which we find ourselves as a state and a country.
Very truly yours,
Tara Thompson
cc: William Clutter, Investigating Innocence
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