SJC Exchange Library

A recent NYT Op-Ed, excerpted and attached below, from a New York City Health Commissioner,  Brooklyn DA., and Ford Foundation head presents,  I thought, a concise and compelling case for releasing individuals from jails and prisons to protect them, correctional staff, and the community at large.  

"... we risk creating a uniquely deadly incubator for the virus."

"In New York, we've already begun to see the effects. Dozens of residents and correctional staff members have tested positive. More will follow.
The consequences will be devastating, for people both inside and outside prison walls. When officers and staff members who work in prisons get infected, they will bring the virus home to their families. As happened in Italy, mounting tensions inside prisons, where anxious residents no longer have access to family visits or the proper supplies to protect themselves, create security risks that will be compounded by short staffing when correctional officers fall sick."

"...release as many people as possible from New York correctional facilities, ...ensure they have the medical and re-entry help they need when they return home."

"Here are several actions…in addition to ending money bail for most people charged with crimes:

First, … grant compassionate release to elderly inmates, as well as those with health conditions that put them at higher risk, …. We know that older incarcerated people are both more vulnerable to the disease and present the lowest risk of reoffending.

Second, …release the thousands of people currently incarcerated on noncriminal technical violations… - except in the very few cases in which a technical violation involves a risk to public safety. …

Third, … grant early ... [release] to people who are up to 180 days away from completing their sentences. After all, they're coming home in weeks or months.

And, …direct prison and jail administrators to furlough low-risk inmates and use …emergency powers to extend those furloughs through the end of the crisis."

www.fordfoundation.org/the-latest/in-the-headlines/...
#COVID19