“The BOP’s policy therefore makes it likely that inmates approved for home confinement will not be released; as the virus spreads in the unit, the 14-day clock will repeatedly restart, perpetually prolonging incarceration,” wrote Nathan, an appointee of President Barack Obama. “If they are released, they may well be positive and asymptomatic, thus endangering the broader community.”

“Mr. Scparta is currently stuck in the bizarre limbo of the Bureau of Prisons’ quarantine policy, which, as the Court has discussed, achieves the backward result of prolonging incarceration and increasing community spread,” she added.

Spokespeople for Barr did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the judge’s criticism. A spokesman for the Bureau of Prisons declined to comment, citing ongoing litigation.

According to prosecutors, Scparta was put into a pre-release quarantine on April 10, but on April 14 one of his fellow prisoners tested positive for the virus. As a result, the clock for Scparta’s group was reset and he isn’t considered eligible for release until April 28.

Nathan acknowledged that her ruling Sunday was at odds with one she issued in another case last week. She said then that she lacked authority to transfer a convict to home confinement because he had a pending release request with the Bureau of Prisons and had not exhausted that process.

However, the judge said a decision to the contrary by one of her colleagues had convinced her that was not a strict requirement under the circumstances.

Scparta pleaded guilty last year to felony charges of theft of public funds and tax evasion for applying for and receiving Social Security disability benefits while receiving $1.3 million for working as a bouncer and host at the Hustler strip club in Manhattan between 2004 and 2017.

Scparta has served about seven months of his sentence and was set for release in December, according to the Bureau of Prisons website.

Under the terms of her “compassionate release” order, Scparta must now observe a 14-day quarantine at his home.

As of Sunday, 22 federal prisoners have died from Covid-19, while 495 inmates and 309 staff have tested positive for the virus, according to statistics on the federal prisons’ website. A total of 65 prisoners at Butner have been diagnosed with the virus, giving that complex the second-highest tally of inmate infections at federal prisons after Yazoo City, Miss.

While Nathan said in her decision that prisoners could be “perpetually” stuck in quarantine under the current arrangement, 1,280 federal prisoners have been sent to home confinement since Barr told authorities to increase use of that option last month, the prisons’ site says.