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The United States has incarcerated more people than any other country on Earth. Mass incarceration in itself is a pandemic, but now these already vulnerable communities are even more vulnerable to another pandemic, COVID-19. Prison and jail populations tend to be vulnerable communities such as; racial minorities, low-income individuals, and those with mental illness. What does this have to do with a pandemic? It means these populations are more likely to have underlying health conditions and are more likely to spread the virus from being in such close quarters. Therefore, they are more likely to contract the virus and experience complications and possibly death. Just because someone commits a crime does not mean they deserve to die.
How did this happen?
Our current situation is the tipping point of decades built on a flawed industrial prison complex. Our prison and jail systems are underfunded, disenfranchised, and overpopulated. This is not the first time a pandemic has wreaked havoc on our prison systems and it likely will not be the last. It is a byproduct of a system built to fail those thrown into it.
What is being done?
As of now, there has been an unorganized and disjointed response to this dire situation. There has been funding put into solutions like unproven UV sanitizing portals, releasing inmates, and poorly executed attempts at social distancing among other things. These measures have proven to not be enough and failing these vulnerable populations put everyone, incarcerated or not, at risk. Jails consistently have inmate turnaround and staffing for these facilities leave their jobs at the end of their shifts, potentially exposing more people to the virus.
What should be done?
For any plan of action to work, there needs to be unity and clarity on plans. One of the ways to do this is to include prisons in joint planning with the overall public response and establish effective information sharing. Furthermore, there needs to be a push for better prevention, risk management, and treatment. Our prison systems are currently strained and lacking the resources to effectively handle the pandemic, but that needs to change. We should not live in a society that gives you more or less protection from a pandemic based on your wealth class, race, or incarceration status. Every life has value and we need to start acting like it.
Works Cited
“1918 Flu Pandemic Puts Prison Medical Staff to Test.” Inside CDCR, 17 Mar. 2020, www.cdcr.ca.gov/insidecdcr/2018/10/18/1918-flu-pandemic-puts-prison-medical-staff-to-test/.
Akiyama, Matthew J., et al. “Flattening the Curve for Incarcerated Populations – Covid-19 in Jails and Prisons: NEJM.” New England Journal of Medicine, 23 July 2020, www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2005687.
Bublé, Courtney. “Federal Bureau of Prisons Spent $3M on Unproven UV Coronavirus Sanitizing Portals .” Government Executive, Government Executive, 6 Aug. 2020, www.govexec.com/management/2020/08/federal-bureau-prisons-spent-3m-unproven-uv-coronavirus-sanitizing-portals/167524/.
Candisky, Catherine. “Caravans of Ohio Families Carry Coronavirus Concerns about Prison Inmates to Columbus.” The Marion Star, Marion Star, 24 Apr. 2020, www.marionstar.com/story/news/local/2020/04/24/coronavirus-caravans-ohio-families-carry-inmate-covid-prison-concerns-marion/3021576001/.
DA. Andrews, J. Bonta, et al. “Targeted Release in the COVID-19 Correctional Crisis: Using the RNR Model to Save Lives.” American Journal of Criminal Justice, Springer US, 1 Jan. 1995, link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12103-020-09539-z.
Initiative, Prison Policy. “Failing Grades: States’ Responses to COVID-19 in Jails & Prisons.” Failing Grades: States’ Responses to COVID-19 in Jails & Prisons | Prison Policy Initiative, www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/failing_grades.html.
Joseph L. Martin, Bronwen Lichtenstein. “‘They Can Take Us Over Any Time They Want’: Correctional Officers’ Responses to Prison Crowding – Joseph L. Martin, Bronwen Lichtenstein, Robert B. Jenkot, David R. Forde, 2012.” SAGE Journals, journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0032885511429256.
The Marshall Project. “A State-by-State Look at Coronavirus in Prisons.” The Marshall Project, The Marshall Project, 6 Aug. 2020, www.themarshallproject.org/2020/05/01/a-state-by-state-look-at-coronavirus-in-prisons.
“Voting Rights.” Prison Fellowship, www.prisonfellowship.org/resources/advocacy/collateral-consequences/voting-rights/.
Zeese, Kevin. “America’s Prison System Is A Disaster.” PopularResistance.Org, PopularResistance.Org, 8 Sept. 2013, popularresistance.org/americas-prison-system-is-a-disaster/.
When looking at the history of the American prison system, it has always been rooted in the incarceration and abuse of minority communities. Whether it is the Jim Crow Laws of the Reconstruction Era or Reagan’s War on Drugs of the 70’s, black and minority communities have been targeted by the law for centuries. During the pandemic we have seen the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement and the call for the defunding of the police during a health crisis that is unfolding in our prisons, which are ironically filled with the people we are calling for justice for. Like police brutality and the pandemic alike , this issue needs to be brought to attention and change needs to occur.
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