BRIDGETON — When Rosa Santiago talks to her son, an inmate at South Woods State Prison, he can’t hold a conversation without coughing.
Hector Jimenez Jr. has hyper IgE syndrome, an immune deficiency disorder that has caused him to be in and out of hospitals since he was diagnosed at 13, Santiago said. He suffers from asthma, has been in multiple comas and only has one lung, which functions at only 40%.
The 24-year-old, of Camden, is serving a minimum 3½-year sentence for weapons charges, state records show. He was sentenced in February 2019 and is eligible for parole Feb. 6, 2022.
“He has trouble breathing every single day, every single minute of his life without coronavirus,” Santiago said during a phone interview Wednesday. “If he catches it, we can’t guarantee that he’ll make it.”
Santiago is just one of many in South Jersey who are trying to get their loved ones with medical conditions out of state custody as the new coronavirus spreads through facilities.
As of Friday morning, there have been 527 COVID-19 cases in employees, 157 in inmates and 29 inmate deaths across all 12 state prison facilities, according to the state Department of Corrections website.
Also on Friday, DOC officials said they will be testing all staff and inmates — about 8,000 and 18,000, respectively — with saliva tests developed by Rutgers University.
In the three weeks since Gov. Phil Murphy signed an executive order that would allow some inmates to be released, only a handful of those eligible due to age or medical conditions have been allowed to leave. While officials said they are trying to keep family members informed, Santiago said the process is moving too slow, calls to state officials are going unanswered or without responses, and it’s a frustrating wait to find out what’s going to happen to her son.
“We all as a family have been trying to reach out to someone to try to help our son,” Santiago said. “Anyone I could speak to. No one can help me. No one knows what do to.”
Jimenez’s sisters, Kristal Jimenez, 26, and Ashley Martinez, 20, described him as outgoing, unique and loving.
“My brother loves to draw and listen to music,” Martinez said. “He enjoys spending time with his nieces and nephews. ... You wouldn’t find someone like Hector. He’s somebody that you’ll always remember.”
Officials at the DOC understand that everyone would like to have their loved one home, spokesman Matthew Schuman said, but individuals must meet certain criteria to be eligible.
“The New Jersey Department of Corrections makes every effort to keep family members of offenders — as well as everyone who inquires about Emergency Order #124 — as informed and up to date as possible regarding the criteria for eligibility and the EO process,” Schuman said. “If an inmate meets the criteria of the EO and is deemed eligible for release, the inmate will be notified directly by the department.”
Murphy’s executive order allows some state prison inmates to be released to temporary home confinement in an effort to stem cases in state facilities.
Officials have compiled lists of those eligible, including those 60 and older with a qualifying medical condition, those 50 and older or those with a qualifying medical condition, and inmates who were denied parole in the past year and are not on the other two lists.
As of Wednesday evening, 54 people had been released out of 1,886 inmates eligible under the governor’s executive order, Schuman said. He did not have a breakdown by facility.
“Out of concern for inmates’ privacy, we have limited the sharing of inmate placement to law enforcement and victims,” Schuman said, adding inmates who are placed on temporary home confinement have community sponsors helping to provide for them while their medical care is still under the DOC.
State officials recently announced that an inmate at the same facility as Jimenez just died.
As of Thursday morning, the DOC reported that South Woods had one inmate death attributed to the new coronavirus, as well as positive cases in six staff members and 17 inmates.
The identity of the inmate was not disclosed by officials, who cited privacy reasons.
In addition to spending her days calling and emailing officials, Santiago created a Change.org petition for medical parole or clemency for her son due to the pandemic. It’s reached more than 1,700 of its 2,500-signature goal.
“We’re not just trying to take advantage of the system or anything,” Santiago said, adding she has already planned how to keep him safe at home. “He will be in his room, quarantined until this is over. If we need a bubble, we will buy a bubble.”
