Yet the federal correctional institution that housed Manafort had no coronavirus cases, and Manafort had served fewer than two years of his more than a seven-year sentence.

Nearly 40% of those incarcerated in federal prisons are African American, many serving very long sentences for drug-related crimes.

But Manafort, citing “fear of coronavirus,” ended up serving less than a quarter of his sentence.

Manafort had a lot less to fear, at his minimum-security prison, than a Black inmate might.

Other countries have reacted to coronavirus crowding by releasing inmates in the tens of thousands.