Marijuana Offender Jaime Benavides Dies of COVID-19 in Federal Prison

Alison Guernsey, a law professor specializing in federal criminal defense, reported today on the sad fate of Jaime Benavides, who:

“was 49-years old when he died of COVID in @OfficialFBOP custody on April 4. Mr. Benavides had started his 30-month sentence for a marijuana trafficking on August 13, 2019. At the time of death, he had served 20 months of that sentence, w/ only ~6 remaining. The last 4 months of life must've been difficult. Mr. Benavides was first diagnosed w/ COVID on 12/18; was considered "recovered" on 12/28; and yet was hospitalized on 3/25 as his "condition worsened." He is the 11th person the BOP listed as recovered, only to watch die.”

According to the Department of Justice, Benavides was a resident of Hebbronville, Texas, when he:

“…attempted to drive a tan Chevrolet pick-up truck through the Border Patrol Checkpoint near Hebbronville. Upon arrival, a K-9 alerted to the possible presence of concealed narcotics in the truck. Authorities conducted an X-ray examination which revealed anomalies in the truck’s diesel tank. They found a hidden trap door connecting the toolbox to the diesel tank which resulted in the discovery of nine bundles of marijuana.

The drugs had a total weight of  weighing 58.5 kilograms with an estimated street value of $48,000.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has created an intolerable situation vis-a-vis non-violent marijuana offenders in federal prison. Those who have already been infected are at risk for re-infection or serious long term effects, and the probability of immunocompromised individuals in prison developing more dangerous mutations that evade even vaccine immunities is significant.

We continue to call on President Biden to offer relief to individuals like Mr. Benavides by creating a systematic clemency initiative to release all non-violent federal marijuana offenders.