As soon as the dimensions of the COVID-19 epidemic in the U.S. grew clear in late winter 2020, so did the looming impact on institutions where people were crowded together. Along with with nursing homes, abbotoirs, and battleships, high on the danger list were prisons.
In the U.S., the threat of the virus to inmates is exacerbated by highest-in-the-world incarceration rates and chronically overcrowded institutions, almost always lacking in adequate medical care. Adding to the peril is the mania for locking men convicted of sex offenses indefinitely after completing their sentences in civil commitment facilities where treatment of any kind is a charade – and with less oversight than prisons. Parolees and registrants as well face risks from continued demands for face to face supervisory contact, often involving travel, during lockdowns.
In April 2020, the William A. Percy Foundation surveyed almost 800 inmates on the mailing list of the Insiders Book Club, a project of the Foundation, which distributes books to inmates and asks in return participation in occasional research studies that shed light on workings of the carceral state official data don’t see. Results of the survey are getting returned and will be tabulated with results to be announced soon.
- For continuing coverage of COVID-19 outbreak in prisons, visit https://www.themarshallproject.org.
- The UCLA Covid-19 Behind Bars project keeps a running tally of infections, deaths, and court cases
- A Reuters special report, May 18, 2020: Across U.S., COVID-19 takes a hidden toll behind bars
- ACLU figures suggest not fighting pandemic in prisons could lead to 200,000 U.S. death – New Model Shows Reducing Jail Population will Lower COVID-19 Death Toll for All of Us
- National Public Radio – ‘A Ticking Time Bomb’: Advocates Warn COVID-19 is Spreading Rapidly Behind Bars
On April 22, 2020, Ohio’s Marion Correctional Institution was revealed as the top virus hotspot in the U.S., with about 3/4ths of the inmates infected, though with no reported mortality at that point. The nation’s second most concentrated COVID-19 hotspot at that point was the state’s Pickaway Correctional Institution. By the end of the month, two Ohio corrections employees had died.
But how much COVID-19 had spread in Ohio prisons was only discovered because health authorities looked. In New York, the worst-hit state in the U.S. as of spring 2020, inmates were only tested (as of late April) if they both showed symptoms and had a medical evaluation. The solution chosen by New York prison administrators was to stick heads firmly in the sand about the risk. (These same authorities refused the Foundation’s COVID-19 survey, demanding a lengthy pre-approval process before inmates could get our mailing.)
While the epidemic has spawned symbolic efforts at easing overcrowding and and has led to the release of some prisoners, has not so far been a major boost to continuing if uneven efforts to foster decarceration in the U.S.
“Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine recently recommended early release for about 300 of the 49,000 inmates who are in Ohio’s prison system – far short of the thousands of people the state’s American Civil Liberties Union chapter said should be released,” noted a report on National Public Radio on April 20.
New York City, COVID-19’s worst-hit major urban epicenter, the city’s notorious Riker’s Island jail had become by early May almost five times the city’s already high infection rate – with some 9.67% percent. The freeing of hundreds of inmates had little effect on the jails’ overcrowding and poor sanitation.
In Massachusetts, retired federal judge Nancy Gertner, now at Harvard Law School, urged more action on the part of courts, administrators, and politicians. In a Boston Globe op-ed – “Coronavirus can mean a death sentence to prisoners“– she condemned the refusal of the state’s governor to free prisoners to lessen the epidemic, and the unwillingness of federal judges to make accommodations for sick defendants for whom the virus would pose grave risks.
“These are the habits of mass incarceration, the reflexive decisions that led to the imprisonment of more citizens than in any other Western country,” Gertner wrote. “We got used to treating people as categories, not human beings … . We got used to reducing offenders to their criminal record, no matter how trivial. We got used to detaining people accused of a crime, even when few federal defendants were rearrested on pretrial release and most appeared for trial. Imprisonment for federal crime, which had been the exception before the mid-1980s, was now the default. An extraordinary punitiveness afflicted legislatures, judges, prosecutors, probation officers, the public… . True, criminal justice reform reduced some sentences and created alternatives to incarceration for others. But these changes are so modest that in 2017, while the adult violent crime rate in the U.S. was 66% lower than 20 years earlier, the incarceration rate was 32% higher.”
The extent of COVID-19 outbreak at civil-commitment facilities is unknown and under-reported. “Basically a death trap,” says one resident of New York’s Marcy Psychiatric Center, in some of the rare mainstream reporting on the situation. A death at Florida’s civil commitment facility was reported in early April, and a report on New York psychiatric facilities – which didn’t include the Marcy, New York, facility for civilly-committed sex offenders (where inmates are certifiably sane) – noted that the virus was running rampant and, by mid-April, had killed 10. “Based on confirmed cases,” noted a report at Gothamgazette.com, “the psychiatric center coronavirus figures represent an infection rate twice that of nursing homes, and a death rate four times greater than in New York City jails. …”
Predictably, even desultory efforts to reduce inmate populations to reduce overcrowding and virus transmission were attacked by tabloid media aiming to stoke panic over sex offenders, making early release much harder for what in some states is 1/3 of the incarcerated population.
Still patchy testing in the U.S. is revealing new virus hotspots. In April, public health workers tested people at Boston’s main homeless shelter, with some 37% testing positive – but with none of those infected showing symptoms. “It was like a double knockout punch. The number of positives was shocking, but the fact that 100 percent of the positives had no symptoms was equally shocking,” Dr. Jim O’Connell, president of Boston Health Care for the Homeless program, said.
As more mass testing becomes available, and as the full prevalence of the virus in the population is made clear, estimates of morbidity and mortality from COVID-19 are getting reduced, even among populations, such as the homeless, with poor health status. (Albeit the long-term effects of infection remain unknown.) It is likely that the virus – while flourishing in the overcrowded and unsanitary prison conditions – will wane as a justification doing something about the American mania for warehousing millions of its citizens.
But as of early May 2020, the situation remains fluid: the full impact that out-of-control prison infection will have on the often small, rural, medically-undersupplied communities in which these institutions tend to be located is a story still getting written. The U.S. states keenest on incarcerating their citizens are also those that for now are most unwilling to undertake preventative lockdowns, or eager to open up before most epidemiologists would advise. Prisons will not keep the virus behind their barbed-wire perimeters, but will insure spread to the homes and families of their staff in communities ill-prepared to deal with the problem. The pandemic still has potential to show how all our fates – rich and poor, imprisoned and free, citizen and “illegal” – are intertwined.
Following are selected articles covering the U.S.’s COVID-19 prison pandemic.
Marion Correctional Institution in Ohio
In Marion Correctional Institution in Ohio, 73% of inmates test positive for coronavirus.
The large cluster of cases was found through an aggressive testing of everyone— including those who are not showing symptoms.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine recently recommended early release for about 300 of the 49,000 inmates who are in Ohio’s prison system – far short of the thousands of people the state’s American Civil Liberties Union chapter said should be released. “This was a policy choice.” compared with other prisons that had not chosen to apply mass test. DeWine said, “We’re looking at more prisoners who can be released.” He added that Ohio isn’t planning for “a wholesale release where every one in a certain category gets out of prison.”
https://nypost.com/2020/04/20/more-than-1800-inmates-test-positive-for-coronavirus-at-ohio-prison/
Sex offenders: Marcy Psychiatric Center
- WKTV’s report on Marcy Psychiatric Center, New York.
- Residents, guards say Marcy psychiatric center is coronavirus hothouse. “Basically a death trap,” says one resident of sex offenders unit
Other facilities
- “Child Sex Offender 2nd Jail Detainee to Die of Coronavirus” – A convicted child sex predator became the second detainee to die of coronavirus at Cook County Jail, sheriff’s officials said.
https://patch.com/illinois/chicago/child-sex-offender-2nd-jail-detainee-die-coronavirus
- Court-ordered changes to Michigan sex offender registry law put on hold due to coronavirus
- Boston Globe – March 27, 2020: “A cry for help from inmates caught in a coronavirus outbreak in Bridgewater” – Fourteen inmates and staff members have tested positive for COVID-19, but inmates say they have no way to protect themselves
Emergency legal action documents: https://macdl.com/petition-to-release-incarcerated/
- Tampa Bay Times – April 10, 2020: “Coronavirus kills one, infects another, in Florida sex offender treatment center” – Residents of the Arcadia facility are held in confinement under the Jimmy Ryce Act, which forces sex offenders into treatment if experts believe they’re likely to commit another sex crime.
- Sex offenders are among inmates released due to coronavirus pandemic, NY jail says
https://www.sacbee.com/news/coronavirus/article241618006.html
- Registered sex offender paroled early due to coronavirus accused of looking up child porn at Boulder AT&T Store
Recent updates
- California reports first prison inmate death caused by coronavirus
- First COVID-19 Death Reported in an Alabama Prison
https://www.tv24.tv/single-post/2020/04/20/First-COVID-19-Death-Reported-in-an-Alabama-Prison
- 25 Kids Confirmed to Have Coronavirus at Virginia Juvenile Detention Center
- Federal prisons confirm first staff death linked to coronavirus
- Arkansas – Prison virus outbreak is massive; governor considering early releases to create prison space
- Coronavirus cases rising at Chicago’s federal high-rise jail
https://chicago.suntimes.com/coronavirus/2020/4/18/21225747/coronavirus-cases-rising-chicago-federal-jail
Releasing people from jails and prisons
- Virus-wracked federal prisons again expand release criteria
The federal prison system has quietly broadened the ranks of inmates eligible to be transferred into home confinement. The latest move by the Bureau of Prisons allows inmates who have yet to complete half of their sentences to be considered for the early release program.
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/11/federal-prison-release-criteria-coronavirus-179835
- BOP Implementing Modified Operations
In order to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, the BOP is operating under the following conditions for the next 30 days:
https://www.bop.gov/coronavirus/covid19_status.jsp
As of 04/14/2020, there are 446 federal inmates and 248 BOP staff who have confirmed positive test results for COVID-19 nationwide. Currently, 20 inmates and 13 staff have recovered. There have been 14 federal inmate deaths and 0 BOP staff member deaths attributed to COVID-19 disease.
https://www.bop.gov/coronavirus/
Federal prisons are wrestling with the rapid spread of the coronavirus at more than two dozen facilities across the country in an outbreak
- DeKalb releases 103 inmates from jail; window dressing, critics say
- A judge in The Bronx approved the release of 51 people jailed for alleged parole violations on Rikers Island in New York City.
- COVID-19 concerns will result in release of up to 300 Stanislaus County Jail inmates
https://www.modbee.com/news/coronavirus/article241929456.html
- COVID-19: 65 Prisoners Released From Westchester County Jail, in Valhalla, New York.
Federal Prison Factories Kept Running as Coronavirus Spread
- Prisoners made furniture and license plates during the pandemic, according to workers and families. Some plants are now making face masks.
- Coronavirus: Federal prisoners made furniture and license plates during the pandemic.
Reducing costs of phone calls and video communication
- After being forced to put on hold in-person visits due to the coronavirus pandemic, federal prisons are now making calls and video visits for inmates free.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/federal-prisons-calls-videos-free-for-inmates-during-coronavirus
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/14/federal-prisons-make-inmate-calling-free-186383
COVID-19 is a unique pandemic which is already affecting the lives of all of us in every country in the world and will continue to do so for a long time to come. In the closed world of the prison, health is fragile at all times and authorities around the world are attentive to the particular dangers of COVID-19 infection within prisons. There have already been instances of serious outbreak in several countries.
Prisoners often live in overcrowded cells and unsanitary contexts. They share cells no bigger than a few square feet, or collective dormitories. The general health condition of prisoners is worse than the overall population. Basic measures of prevention are hindered by poor material conditions.
What measures are taken to guarantee the safety of all prisoners and prison staff?
- The most common action is to lockdown prison, with a mandatory quarantine for inmates and a ban on visitation and transferring.
Federal prison officials on March 31 order a 14-day system-wide lockdown in bid to limit coronavirus spread. Any new prisoners will be put on an automatic quarantine for 14 days. Limited small gatherings will still be allowed for showering, commissary, programs and services. Attorney General Barr has directed federal prisons to identify elderly and medically vulnerable inmates with a low risk of recidivism who might be better protected by release to home confinement. As of March 31, 28 inmates and 24 staffers had tested positive for the virus, with one 49-year old inmate dead.
In China, as of February 20, outbreaks of infection had occurred in five prisons in Hubei, Shandong, and Zhejiang. There are no severe cases in these five prisons, and they are all imported cases. There have been no deaths.
Efforts were made to prevent and control the epidemic in prison, such as lockdown and quarantine. But can Chinese state media be trusted? Many Western intelligence agencies believe China has understated the severity of the problem to protect its reputation.
https://www.yicai.com/news/100516268.html
- Have they released prisoners to reduce overcrowding?
Many prisons are grossly overcrowded. That greatly increases the risk of contamination and the spread of infection. Addressing overcrowding is key. A number of countries are already taking specific steps to tackle this. Some are focusing efforts on an immediate reduction in the number of pre-trial detainees. Some prison authorities are also examining the cases of prisoners who are serving short sentences as well as others who are coming to the end of their sentences, with a view to early executive release.
New York, Chicago, California, Indonesia, Iran, India, Nepal, the United Kingdom and other countries are planning to release some prisoners.
California to release 3,500 inmates early as coronavirus spreads inside prisons. The releases are only for non-violent offenders who are within 60 days of completing their sentences. Violent offenders, sex offenders, and domestic abusers will not be released early. So far, no steps have been taken to isolate elderly prisoners or those with underlying medical conditions. Whole dormitories have been placed on lockdown if any prisoner is sick. As of March 30, 22 staff and four inmates in ten different California prisons had tested positive for COVID-19. Staff are tested for elevated body temperature, and 170 have been sent back home; 886 called in sick on March 29. California prisons are currently at 130.9% of their designed capacity.
- Harris County, Texas (Houston and suburbs) announced plans to release about 1,000 non-violent detainees after one prisoner and six staff tested positive, in response to a conference with U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal. Repeat offenders, residential burglars, and DWI offenders are excluded from the release.
- Northern Ireland – Coronavirus: Prisoners to be temporarily freed in response to pandemic
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-52090399
- Iran Releases 54,000 Prisoners to Contain Coronavirus Spread
https://www.thedailybeast.com/iran-releases-54000-prisoners-to-contain-coronavirus-spread
- Indonesia to release 30,000 prisoners early amid virus concerns
- Chicago
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/30/us/coronavirus-prisons-jails.html
- India
- The world has seen many prison riots. The cause of the incident was rumors that epidemic could occur in prison.
Prison administrators need to provide good communication and information for both personnel and inmates in order to reduce the spread of unfounded rumors and dangerous gossip.
Part of what has driven the incidents in Thailand is not by the pandemic itself but by fear and uncertainty of what might happen.
Part of the reason for the riots in prisons in Colombia, Italy, and elsewhere appears to have been a reaction to the fact that prisoners did not properly understand why visits from family and friends were being suspended. Staff and prisoners should be provided on an ongoing basis with clear and factual information about the main issues and should be given advice about what is being done to alleviate the situation. It is very important to reduce the climate of fear in each prison and the tension which is inevitably experienced by both prisoners and personnel.
- Thailand prison riots
- Italy Prison in Flames in Coronavirus Lockdown Riot Among Cut-Off Inmates
- Prison Riots in Colombia Over Virus Fears Leave at Least 23 Dead
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/22/world/americas/colombia-prison-riot-dead.html
- Two Sri Lanka Inmates Killed in Riot Over Virus Restrictions
https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2020/03/22/world/asia/ap-as-sri-lanka-prison-shooting.html
In summary, due to the shortage of healthcare supplies and high contagiousness, the main measures to contain this epidemic include a strict lockdown, releasing prisoner, and to isolate sick prisoners and those with whom they were in contact. And it is usually hard to apply measures like adequate testing, distributing masks or gloves, and improving hygiene.
U.S.: State by state updates
New York
COVID-19 webpage for updates
https://doccs.ny.gov/suspensions-restrictions-cancellations-response-COVID-19
https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/home
New adopted policies:
- Two free 30 minutes call per week,
- Five free stamps, 2 free messages per week via tablet.
New Jersey
COVID-19 webpage for updates
https://www.state.nj.us/corrections/pages/COVID19Updates.shtml
New adopted policies
- Only legal visitation permitted
- Provide free stamps
- Increased access to hygiene products
- Screening employees for COVID-19
- Screening new admissions to prison for COVID-19
- Suspended Transfers
- Mandatory isolation for new admissions to prisons
Plan to isolate (“Individuals who demonstrate symptoms will be provided with personal protective equipment, as medically directed, and either quarantined, medically isolated, or transferred to a hospital, as prescribed. Furthermore, individuals have been instructed to report ailments to medical staff and alert our staff of any urgent medical needs.”)
Michigan
COVID-19 webpage for updates
New adopted policies
- Only legal visitation permitted
- 2 free 5 minutes calls per week
- 2 free stamps per week
- Increased access to hygiene products
- Screening employees for COVID-19
- Suspended Transfers
- Suspension of medical copays
Provide products (“Michigan State Industries has been producing masks for prisoners and correctional facility staff to wear. Facilities that had positive cases received masks first, and as production has increased, masks and protective gowns are being sent to all facilities for staff and prisoners. In the meantime, facility staff are permitted to bring their own PPE, such as masks, gloves and gowns.”)
Louisiana
COVID-19 webpage for updates
https://doc.louisiana.gov/COVID-19-information/
New adopted policies
- All visitation suspended
- Increased access to hygiene products
- Each state prison has identified areas to quarantine DOC’s incarcerated population
Pennsylvania
COVID-19 webpage for updates
https://www.cor.pa.gov/Pages/COVID-19.aspx
New adopted policies
- Only legal visitation permitted
- 5 free 15 minutes calls per week
- 1 free 45 minutes video call per week
- 5 free emails per week and can mail 12 one-ounce letters per month for free
- Increased access to hygiene products
- Screening employees for COVID-19
- Screening new admissions to prison for COVID-19
- Mandatory isolation for new admissions to prisons
- Suspension of medical copays
- Expedited parole
- System-wide quarantine of all people incarcerated in state prisons
- Plan to isolate (“Every SCI has plans in place for quarantine if an inmate tests positive. All SCIs will identify vulnerable population to keep them isolated.”)
Washington
COVID-19 webpage for updates
https://www.doc.wa.gov/news/COVID-19.htm
New adopted policies
- Only legal visitation permitted
- 2 free 5 minutes calls per week
- 1 free video call per week
- 2 free JPay stamps per week; reduced cost for inbound VideoGrams
- Increased access to hygiene products
- Screening employees for COVID-19
- Screening new admissions to prison for COVID-19
- Expedited parole
Maryland
COVID-19 webpage for updates
The DPSCC has not disseminated much information about department specific COVID-19 protocols.
https://news.maryland.gov/dpscs/
https://coronavirus.maryland.gov/#FAQ
New adopted policies
- All visitation suspended
- Changes in telephone call policies and costs
- Changes in video call policies and costs
Virginia
COVID-19 webpage for updates
https://vadoc.virginia.gov/news-press-releases/2020/COVID-19-updates/
New adopted policies
- All visitation suspended
- 2 free calls per week
- 2 free JPay stamps per week
- Increased access to hygiene products
- Screening employees for COVID-19
- Suspended Transfers
- Plan to isolate (“Offenders in dormitory housing have been instructed to sleep head to toe, thereby increasing the breathable space between offenders. Additionally, it has been recommended to offenders that they maintain a six foot distance whenever possible and not sit on anyone else’s bed.”)
Florida
COVID-19 webpage for updates
http://www.dc.state.fl.us/comm/COVID-19.html
New adopted policies
- Only legal visitation permitted
- 2 free 15 min calls per week
- 1 free video call per week
- 4 free JPay stamps per week; outbound videogram cost reduced from 4 stamps to 2 stamps
- Screening employees for COVID-19
- Suspended Transfers
- Mandatory isolation for new admissions to prisons
- Suspension of medical copays
Illinois
COVID-19 webpage for updates
https://www2.illinois.gov/idoc/facilities/Pages/Covid19Response.aspx
New adopted policies
- Only legal visitation permitted
- two 20-minute calls per week
- one 15-minute video call; GTL giving 1 free 15 minute call per week
- Increased access to hygiene products
- Screening employees for COVID-19
- Suspended Transfers
- System-wide quarantine of all people incarcerated in state prisons
- Lockdown in facilities with positive COVID-19 cases
Missouri
COVID-19 webpage for updates
https://doc.mo.gov/media-center/newsroom/COVID-19
New adopted policies
- Only legal visitation permitted
- 2 free 10-minute calls per week
- Increased access to hygiene products
- Screening employees for COVID-19
- Screening new admissions to prison for COVID-19
- Suspended Transfers
- Plan to isolate (“Isolation cells, wings and units identified for use, if needed, at every prison”)
Massachusetts
COVID-19 webpage for updates
https://www.mass.gov/orgs/massachusetts-department-of-correction
https://www.mass.gov/doc/COVID-19-qa/download
https://www.mass.gov/doc/temporary-suspension-of-visits-at-doc-facilities/download
New adopted policies
- Increased access to hygiene products
- Suspension of medical copays
Ohio
COVID-19 webpage for updates
https://www.drc.ohio.gov/Family/COVID-19-UPDATES
New adopted policies
- 2 free 5 min calls per week
- 1 free 15 min video call per week, can purchase extra video calls at discounted rate of $3.50
- 8 free emails through JPay per month
- Increased access to hygiene products
- Screening employees for COVID-19
- Suspension of medical copays
- Plan to isolate (“Offenders that test positive will be kept away from those that are healthy.”)
Wisconsin
COVID-19 webpage for updates
https://doc.wi.gov/Pages/COVID19%28Coronavirus%29/COVID19.aspx
New adopted policies
- Only legal visitation permitted
- 2 free 15 min calls per week
- Increased access to hygiene products
- Screening employees for COVID-19
- Suspended Transfers
- Suspension of medical copays
- Expedited parole, particularly for those who are elderly or have extraordinary health conditions
- Plan to isolate (“Each site has pandemic plans to address COVID-19, including the protocols and isolation procedures if someone is exposed and/or becomes infected” only critical movement is allowed outside of cells [meals, showers] in facilities with confirmed cases)
Responses to the COVID-19 pandemic
Prisons and jails are amplifiers of infectious diseases such as COVID-19, because the conditions such as social distancing are nearly impossible to achieve in correctional facilities. So what should criminal justice agencies be doing to protect public health?
This page is tracking examples of state and local agencies taking meaningful steps to slow the spread of COVID-19.
- Releasing people from jails and prisons
- Reducing jail admissions
- Reducing incarceration and unnecessary face-to-face contact for people on parole and probation
- Eliminating medical co-pays
- Reducing costs of phone calls and video communication
https://www.prisonpolicy.org/virus/virusresponse.html
Updated April 9, 2020 – At least 1,324 confirmed coronavirus cases are tied to prisons and jails across the United States, according to data tracked by the New York Times, including at least 32 deaths.
The jail in Chicago is now the nation’s largest-known source of coronavirus infections, according to data compiled by Times.
Chicago has established a quarantine area for inmates who have tested positive, and another to monitor those showing symptoms. The most serious cases have been admitted to hospitals. One jail inmate has died.
Concerns about the virus’s spread have prompted authorities across the country to release thousands of inmates, many of whom were awaiting trial or serving time for nonviolent crimes. But the greatest concern might be in facilities where little has been done to stop the virus’s spread, because social distancing is virtually impossible and access to soap and water is not guaranteed.
in the midst of a ban on gatherings in Chicago, protesters drove around the jail, demanding the release of their loved ones.
Advocates and family members have filed a federal lawsuit seeking the early release of older Cook County inmates and those who have chronic medical conditions. Similar lawsuits appear in relation to Oakdale federal prison in Louisiana, The Oregon Justice Resource Center, and the Weld County jail.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/08/us/coronavirus-cook-county-jail-chicago.html
April 6, 2020 – New York’s Rikers Island Jail Sees First Inmate Death From COVID-19.
Michael Tyson, 53, died on Sunday at Bellevue Hospital. He had been in custody at Rikers Island over a technical parole violation since Feb. 28. He was taken to the hospital on March 26.
“Mr. Tyson could have been released from Rikers Island at any point since February 26th by Governor Cuomo, who instead ignored the severe health risks,” VOCAL-NY said in a joint statement with criminal justice reform organizations Worth Rises and the Release Aging People in Prison Campaign.
273 inmates on Rikers Island have tested positive for the virus as of April 5, according to the New York City Department of Corrections. This is along with 321 correctional staff members and 53 health professionals across the New York City jail system. Four corrections officers have died.
Critics say that it is time for the governor to employ the full breadth of those powers and to act without delay to avoid further catastrophe.
https://time.com/5816332/rikers-island-inmate-dies-coronavirus/
Prisoner advocates, inmates ask for COVID-19 safety measures
Nicholas Zimmerman, 44, uploaded an audio recording making several requests to the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision and Gov. Andrew Cuomo. It is a request to DOCCS to expand the capacities of the inmates’ personal electronic tablets to make unlimited FaceTime, phone calls and emails for those who can pay for the services. Using shared phone and computer equipment could lead to spread of the coronavirus, he said.
Corrections Association Executive Director Jennifer Scaife said she was concerned that the coronavirus-related policies DOCCS is putting into place are not being uniformly implemented across the individual prisons. “Each prison has its own personality and its own set of cultural and regional issues that make implementation of a policy look a little bit different,” she said.
April 2, 2020 – Up until now, 231 incarcerated members and 223 staff are infected by COVID-19 on Rikers Island. The population there are particularly vulnerable, given the infection rate at four percent, compared with 0.51 percent in New York City overall. Many advocates and officials—including the jail’s chief physician have stated that the jail is in bad condition facing the epidemic, dirty common place, lack of cleaning products and over packed. Some claim that the patients there have not been able to access medical treatment despite asking for it.
In response to earlier reports about the lack of soap, a Department of Correction spokesperson replied that they have ramped up existing cleaning policies to combat the potential spread of the coronavirus, including guarantee all the cleaning soap, audit inmate complaints.
Earlier this week, Mayor de Blasio said the city had released 900 inmates from custody over the past two weeks, as a part of an important effort to return as many people as possible and reduce the population in the jails to allow for improved separation.
Popular Twitter personality and podcast host Taxstone is currently incarcerated on Rikers Island. On Thursday, he decided to let fans in as he revealed what he and other prisoners are dealing with right now, which aroused public concern.
A celebrity-backed criminal justice reform organization announced Friday it is sending about 100,000 masks to Rikers Island and other correctional facilities. “Governors and people who run jails and prisons in this country need to take the pandemic in Rikers as a warning,” said Van Jones, CEO of REFORM Alliance.
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/04/rikers-coronavirus-cases-increase.html
https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/coronavirus/2020/04/02/rikers-island-under-massive-quarantine
April 5, 2020 – A lawsuit brought by the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association considering the epidemic among corrections officers at Rikers Island jail was responded by the judge. According to the ruling, New York City must provide staff members protective masks, monitor their temperatures for signs of coronavirus and increase sanitation of their work spaces.
Officers assigned to work areas housing inmates who have COVID-19, where there are prisoners showing symptoms or who transport such inmates must be given N95 level masks, state judge Pamela Brown wrote in her Friday ruling.
The city has appealed the ruling – which stays the order until the appeal is heard.
https://qns.com/story/2020/04/05/new-york-city-ordered-to-better-protect-rikers-jail-officers/
William A. Percy Foundation Survey on Prison Health Care and Coronavirus Response
1. Has your facility changed any of its procedures in response to the nationwide coronavirus outbreak?
- 0 = No. 1 = Yes.
2. Has your facility so far experienced any suspected cases of coronavirus infection?
- 0 = None. If yes, please list the number you have heard about.
3. Has your facility been testing inmates with swabs for coronavirus?
- 0 = No. 1 = Only inmates showing respiratory symptoms. 2 = All inmates.
4. Have inmates over the age of 65 or with underlying medical conditions been segregated from the general population?
- 0 = No. 1 = Only in a few cases. 2 = All such inmates have been moved.
5. Has your facility distributed protective gear such as masks or disposable gloves?
- 0 = No. 1 = Only to guards and other workers.
- 2 = To everyone who wants them.
6. Has your facility confined inmates to their cells in response to the coronavirus?
- 0 = No. 1 = Only if they show symptoms. 2 = Everyone is confined for longer periods than normal. 3 = Everyone is confined for most of the day. 4 = Everyone is on permanent lockdown.
7. Has your facility staggered shifts for daily activities such as dining or showering to reduce overcrowding?
- 0 = No. 1 = They already did this. 2 = They started doing this recently.
8. How many other inmates share the same cell or dormitory room with you?
9. Has your facility recently released inmates early to reduce overcrowding?
- 0 = No. 1 = Only a few. 2 = A substantial number.
10. If you answered the last question with 1 or 2, which group would you say was most likely to be released early?
- 1 = The elderly and infirm. 2 = Those closest to finishing their sentence. 3 = Those convicted of non-violent offenses. 4 = It seems random.
11. How would you rate the quality of medical care in your facility overall?
- 1 = Very poor. 2 = Inadequate. 3 = Satisfactory. 4 = Good. 5 = Excellent.
12. How would you rate the quality of medical care you received prior to being incarcerated?
- 0 = I never sought medical care. 1 = Very poor. 2 = Inadequate. 3 = Satisfactory. 4 = Good. 5 = Excellent.
13. Did you have medical insurance prior to being incarcerated?
- 0 = No. 1 = Some of the time. 2 = Always or most of the time.
14. Do you currently have a chronic medical condition that requires medication and regular care?
- 0 = No. 1 = Yes.
15. Did you have this condition prior to your incarceration?
- 0 = No. 1 = Yes.
16. Does your facility take inmates to see outside specialists if the in-prison medical staff cannot deal with a problem?
- 0 = Almost never. 1 = Sometimes, but it is unreliable and complicated to get approval. 2 = Routinely.
17. How many days do you have to wait before medical staff can see you, if you have a medical complaint such as flu, nausea, or unusual pain?
For the following questions, 0 = No, 1 = Yes.
18. Does your facility provide routine medical exams at least once a year?
19. Does your facility provide dental exams and cleaning at least once a year?
20. Does your facility provide optical exams at least once a year?
21. Does your facility dispense medications that you need?
22. Does your facility offer mental health services?
23. Does your facility offer hormone therapy to transgender inmates?
24. Does your facility make condoms available either free or for purchase?
25. Have you ever sustained a serious injury such as a fall or a bleeding wound while incarcerated?
26. If your answer to the last question was Yes, did you receive prompt medical attention, or were you simply put back in your cell?
27. In your opinion, do some prisoners fake illness or injury just to get attention or to avoid doing something they don’t want to do?
28. Is your prison commissary adequately stocked with common over-the-counter medications?
29. Are conditions in common use areas such as dining halls, restrooms, and showers generally clean and hygienic?
30. Does your facility have problems with insect or rodent infestation?
31. Is your facility adequately heated during the winter?
32. Is your facility climate-controlled during the summer?
Please feel free to attach written responses to any of these questions or concerning any other medical issues you think we ought to cover.