Closing a long week with a long list of articles and commentaries highlighting how COVID keeps coursing through incarceration nation
Every week seem extra long these days, and blah weather had me feeling extra blah during this extra long work week. But I know I am quite lucky to endure these feelings and all our uncertainty in relative comfort and safety, especially when compared to the millions behind bars in the United States. I will close the long work week with a round up of recent stories and commentaries as we continue experiencing the fall-out of coronavirus coming to incarceration nation:
Some news from various jurisdictions:
Alabama: “‘It’s horrible’: how the US deep south’s prisons exacerbate the pandemic“
California: “Chino men’s prison reports 67 cases of coronavirus, 3 confirmed at women’s prison“
Federal: “Interviewed in hiding, escaped NC inmate says he fled coronavirus ‘death sentence’“
Florida: “Two inmates at NW Florida prison die of COVID-19. State officials kept deaths secret“
Gerorgia: “COVID-19 Cases and Fatalities Rise in Georgia Prisons“
Illinois: “‘They Should Be Letting Guys Go’: Six Illinois Prisoners Dead From COVID-19“
Indiana: “COVID-19 spike at Westville prison; 87 inmates test positive“
Louisiana; “Louisiana Prisoners Held In Notorious Isolation Unit Are Facing A ‘Slow-Moving Disaster’“
Massachusetts: “More Than 150 Positive COVID-19 Cases Reported Among Prisoners, Staff Inside Mass. Jails And Prisons“
Michigan: “The High COVID-19 Infection Rate At This Michigan Prison Has Inmates Fearing For Their Health“
Ohio: “489 Ohio state inmates, 184 jail staff members test positive for COVID-19“
South Dakota: “S.D. Department of Corrections won’t say how many inmates are tested for coronavirus“
Texas: “121 inmates with COVID-19 transferred to local prisons“
Some commentary and advocacy from various individuals:
Cara Drinan, “Clemency in a time of COVID-19“
Aya Gruber & Benjamin Levin, “Colorado Supreme Court Fails To Protect State Residents As Coronavirus Grows ‘Exponentially’ In Jails“
Lacino Hamilton, “Where I’m Incarcerated, People With COVID-19 Are Warehoused in a Gym“
Oliver Hinds, “Emptying Prisons To Prevent The Spread Of Coronavirus Will Save Lives On The Outside, Too“
Sarah Lustbader, “‘How Can I Keep My Family Safe?’: Worrying for My Clients on Rikers“
Dawn Wolfe, “Advocates Say Ohio’s Governor Is Failing To Protect Prisoners From Coronavirus“
Multiple authors, “Release many more people from prison now, Gov. Cuomo“
Multiple authors, “Prison should not be a COVID-19 death sentence“