I recently came across an article posted by the Daily Post in November 2020. This article caught my attention because my husband, Joshua Bofill, is currently an inmate at Sterling Correctional Facility. Everything in this article, pertaining to the spread of the COVID-19 virus, was spot on.
I fear for my husband’s life right now. You see, when he was sentenced from Jefferson County in June of 2019, he was transferred to Denver Reception & Diagnostic Center (DRDC). This is where all inmates entering the prison systems are thoroughly screened (medically, emotionally, socially, etc.). It was there my husband found out he had contracted HEP C. Although, he was not treated at DRDC, the medical staff told him once he got to his final facility the clinic there would follow up. He was told he should get re-tested in 6 months to see if the HEP C “went away”. This is even stated in his medical record. It took my husband a year for Department of Corrections medical staff to address this and come up with a treatment plan.
Well, unfortunately, COVID-19 hit around March of 2020…
The good news, my husband finally got the medication needed to cure his disease. It was approximately a 3-month regimen of very intense daily medications. The treatment has been compared to chemo therapy as far as how invasive and hard on the human body it can be. Needless to say, his liver is in a compromised state and his immune system is slowly rebuilding. But if he were to contract the COVID-19 virus, his 10-year sentence would turn into a death sentence.
And I’m sure Joshua Bofill is just one of hundreds of men and women in the same predicament. With five deaths to date and positive cases increasing by the day inside Sterling Correctional Facility, I fear my kids and I won’t ever see him alive again.
So about 7 months ago, when Governor Polis announced that non-violent offenders and inmates with potentially life threatening medical conditions could submit a waiver to the review board to finish their sentences at home, I was relieved. I thought, “Amen!”. Well, that was a short lived sigh of relief. Even after hiring a legal advisor, battling with case manager after case manager, submitting documents to plead for clemency and the review board to listen to me… I have even left over a dozen messages with Governor Polis’ staff.
I’m sad to say, I have heard nothing. This is frustrating and scary for not only Joshua, but us on the outside waiting, and waiting. The case managers at Sterling let his case file sit on an empty desk for two months before we learned his case manager actually didn’t work there anymore. She was on medical leave for an undetermined length of time.
I guess I am writing so that our story can be heard. And if there is anyway we can get in on that class action suit, or if anyone needs a voice to be heard and testify, I am willing. Please pray for my husband to have a safe return back home. And I will continue to pray for all of the inmates, their families, and all who are effected by this pandemic. Just recently, a few weeks ago, I lost my mother in law to COVID-19.
This is all too real for the Bofill family.
God Bless,
Erika Bofill
Aurora, CO