Former New York Giants wide receiver Mark Ingram, who is serving a 21-month federal prison sentence for violating his supervised release stemming from convictions for bank fraud and laundering drug money, is suffering from dementia and has filed a request to leave prison due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ingram’s request comes on the heels of Attorney General Bill Barr ordering the Bureau of Prisons to evaluate potentially high-risk inmates and determine if they are better suited for home confinement during these times.
However, prosecutors are fighting against Ingram’s potential release, noting that he has a lengthy criminal history and that dementia does not put him at increased risk to get the coronavirus.
“Ingram might be granted home confinement under the new legislation and Attorney General’s directive,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Blaine Longsworth wrote in a public document. “Then again, he might not. But either way, he should not be permitted to push his way in the queue past other inmates who are less dangerous and more vulnerable than he is.”
Ingram’s lawyer, David Jones, argued that in addition to dementia, Ingram is at increased risk of contracting the virus because he also has asthma and hypertension. Jones believes that Ingram may also be suffering from Chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE.
“He may drive, but his wife does not let him,” neurologist Dr. Alan Lerner wrote to the court. “He cannot recall where he is supposed to go.
“He can dress himself, [but needs] to be reminded to shower and brush his teeth. Can’t be left by himself or under supervision except by his wife or close friends. Gets very angry easily; can be set off by anything. Complains of headaches…”
Ingram began serving his 21-month sentence on September 4, 2019 and is scheduled to be released on February 28, 2021. He is eligible for release to a halfway house in September of 2020.
Ingram was a first-round pick of the Giants in the 1987 NFL Draft. He spent six years in New York before bouncing around between the Miami Dolphins, Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles. He retired following the 1996 season.
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