Tamaya Dennard to be released from prison, enter halfway home: court docs

CINCINNATI (WXIX) - Former Cincinnati City Councilwoman Tamaya Dennard will be released from a West Virginia prison and transferred to a halfway house in early May, according to court documents filed on April 22.

Dennard filed a motion for compassionate release on March 24. Stephanie Kessler, Dennard’s attorney, claimed his client contracted an antibiotic-resistant infection due to mismanagement of her medical care by the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), the documents show.

Dennard arrived at the women’s prison on June 1, 2021, to begin to serve out her 18-month sentence.

Roughly one week after arriving to the facility, documents say she “complained that a pin was coming out of her 2nd on her right foot from where she had rods and pins inserted in a prior surgery.”

Different treatments were attempted and the BOP even arranged for her to have surgery to remove the pin, according to the documents.

The following information was obtained by our media partners the Cincinnati Enquirer.

At that time, tests showed that she had an infection in the foot. By September, the infection had not improved and it was recommended Dennard get a medical scan to see if the metal in her toe needed to be removed.

She wasn’t evaluated by a physician until November. At that point, an orthopedic surgeon recommended the hardware in her foot be removed. That same month the antibiotic-resistant infection MRSA was found in her foot.

Dennard elected to have surgery in December of 2021 to remove the hardware.

In a response from the government, they oppose Dennard’s May 4 release to a halfway home, according to the filed documents. Dennard is scheduled to be fully released on June 12.

Dennard was arrested in February of 2020 on accusations of a pay-to-play scheme in which she sold a vote related to The Banks riverfront project. She promised a favorable vote on a development deal in exchange for money.

She pleaded guilty in November 2020 to a honest services wire fraud.

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