Super Bowl champion wide receiver asking for early release from prison, citing dementia, coronavirus

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Super Bowl champion wide receiver Mark Ingram, who is serving a 21-month federal prison sentence for bank fraud and laundering drug money, is seeking an early release because he is suffering from dementia during the coronavirus pandemic, his lawyer said Wednesday.

Ingram, who was on the New York Giants’ Super Bowl XXV-winning team, filed the request March 30 to leave prison, according to The Detroit News.

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Federal prosecutors are pushing back on the request, citing Ingram’s criminal past as a reason to keep him behind bars. Prosecutors also argued his “alleged dementia” doesn’t leave him more susceptible to contracting 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 response. “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.”

Mark Ingram was on the Giants from 1987 to 1992. (Bernstein Associates/Getty Images)

Longsworth also argued that Ingram’s conditions do not qualify him for compassionate release.

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“And his medical conditions, which are not in the terminal phase and do not interfere with his ability to perform basic self-care, likewise fail to justify his release," he added.

Ingram’s lawyer, David Jones, wrote in a court filing that Ingram’s health problems leave him susceptible to the virus and he is also likely to have CTE.

Dr. Alan Lerner, Ingram’s neurologist, said the former player's brain issues have worsened over the last few years.

“He can dress himself 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,” Lerner wrote in his evaluation.

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Ingram, 54, was convicted of bank fraud and laundering drug money in 2008 and was sentenced to 92 months in prison and five years of supervised release.

According to The Detroit News, Ingram violated supervised release and in February 2019 a judge determined Ingram was in possession of a firearm and marijuana and was involved in a marijuana grow-op. He was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison in September.

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At least eight federal inmates have died due to the coronavirus. Ingram is among the high-profile inmates asking for release. Rapper Tekashi6ix9ine was granted compassionate release from a New York City prison. He was sentenced to two years in prison for racketeering.