A man sentenced to prison for distributing methamphetamine will be released after the court found substantial evidence of physical ailments, including contracting the coronavirus twice.Â
On July 25, 2016, the court sentenced Franklin John Salas to nine years imprisonment. Salas has served 60% of his prison sentence, and at sentencing was assigned the lowest criminal history category because his crime was nonviolent.
According to the District Court of Guam, Salas suffers from Type II diabetes, diabetic neuropathy, eye cataracts, hypertension, pressure ulcers on his buttocks and foot, chronic kidney disease, and obesity.
In 2016, he suffered a hip fracture and had surgery. In 2017, he fractured his right knee, which according to court documents, doctors at the prison have been unable to treat.
"Walking on his own is extremely painful, and so (he) has been confined to a wheelchair for the last four years," court documents read. Since the start of his incarceration, Salas gained 50 pounds.Â
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During the coronavirus outbreak, Salas was infected with the coronavirus twice. He has since suffered chills, body aches, loss of appetite, loss of taste, and fatigue, according to court documents.Â
"He has difficulty in wheeling himself around because of this fatigue, and thus must always have a fellow prisoner assigned to help push his wheelchair," court documents state. Salas also lives in the same room as dozens of other inmates, and they share three bathrooms and one urinal.Â
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The court has reduced his sentence to the time he served, and will release him, subject to the surrender of his passport and regular monitoring.
Salas still faces three years of supervised release, during which he will have to comply with conditions already imposed on him.Â
This article originally appeared on Pacific Daily News: Man jailed for distributing methamphetamine to be released after proof of physical ailments
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