‘Kids-for-cash’ judge seeks compassionate release from federal prison, claiming COVID risk

But now Ciavarella is claiming he suffers from a number of medical conditions that would lead to a continuing prison sentence deteriorating his health, especially given the COVID-19 pandemic. In a brief filed Dec. 21 by federal public defenders Heidi R. Freese, Quin M. Sorenson and Tammy L. Taylor, Ciavarella claims to suffer from stage 3 chronic kidney disease, along with a number of other conditions, including basal cell carcinoma, bronchitis, hypothroidism, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, lumbar degenerative disc disease and an enlarged prostate.