nakedcapitalism | JERRI-LYNN SCOFIELD: Could you summarize some of the prison conditions that facilitate COVID-19 spread?
MICHELE DEITCH: Prisons and jails are so densely
populated, and it is impossible for people in custody to keep a social
distance from each other. There are usually two or more people in a
small, shared cell and oftentimes there are large dormitories. There are
shared open toilets and sinks, often part of a single fixture, and
often located adjacent to the bunkbeds. The chow hall has shared tables
and long lines, with food doled out cafeteria-style by incarcerated
workers. Lines are everywhere inside a facility: the pill line; the
commissary line; the line for showers. Work assignments involve close
contact with fellow workers. There are lots of group activities: school,
vocational training, programs, recreation. In short, unless you are in
solitary confinement (which is incredibly harsh and definitely something
to be avoided), you are in constant close proximity to lots of other
people.
JERRI-LYNN SCOFIELD: More than 2 million prisoners are
incarcerated in the US. Yet prisoners are not the only potential victims
of prison spread. COVID-19 will also hurt prison staff, who will
further spread infections back into their wider communities. What can
you tell us about these risks?
MICHELE DEITCH: Prisons and jails are already facing
lots of staffing challenges, with many facilities severely understaffed
and with high turnover rates. Staff are usually poorly paid, and many
have difficult working conditions.
Of course, COVID-19 doesn’t discriminate between staff and prisoners,
and once the virus is in the facility, it will affect everyone
regardless of their position.
With this new challenge, we need to make sure that staff are
protected as well as people in custody. And we certainly need to make
sure that they are not coming to work if they are sick, because the
consequences could be disastrous.
JERRI-LYNN SCOFIELD: I understand that reducing the prison
population is one policy that can mitigate potential COVID-19
consequences, both keeping people from entering the system, and
accelerating release of existing prisoners. Please tell me a bit
more about this.
MICHELE DEITCH: Prisons and jails are at especially
high risk for the spread of COVID-19, because they are so densely
populated and there is little ability to implement social distancing
strategies. When (not if) the virus hits these facilities, it will
spread like wildfire, with disastrous consequences.Thus it is urgent for
all places of detention to immediately reduce the number of people who
are incarcerated, both to make social distancing a bit easier and also
so that incarceration doesn’t mean a death sentence for people in
custody who have little ability to protect themselves in these
circumstances.
There are two ways to reduce the population. Think of these
institutions as bathtubs. First, we have to turn off the spigot, to
reduce the number of people entering the facilities; and second, we have
to open the drain, to accelerate releases of people who are already
incarcerated.
JERRI-LYNN SCOFIELD: What is being done across the country to
reduce the number of people entering the prison system? I know some
jurisdictions are increasing pre-trial release, particularly for
non-violent offenses and other low-risk prisoners, and Fox reports that
Philadelphia is now delaying arrests, Philadelphia police to delay arrests for certain non-violent crimes.
MICHELE DEITCH: Experts and advocates around the
country are correctly urging law enforcement officials to limit the
number of arrests, and wherever possible, issue citations in lieu of
arrest. No one who is medically vulnerable or pregnant should be brought
to the jail. People charged with non-violent felonies and misdemeanors
should not be brought to the jail’s booking area unless they present a
serious risk to public safety. Each person who comes into the jail is a
potential vector for transmission of the virus. Beyond that, warrants
for minor offenses should be suspended. Probation and parole should not
be revoked for technical violations of conditions. And anyone charged
with misdemeanors or low-level felonies, and those presenting little
risk to the community, should be released on personal bonds. All people
sitting in the jail because they can’t raise money for bond should have
their cases reviewed immediately.
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