Amid Coronavirus, many of us are able to stay safe by wearing protective gear, working from home, and limiting our time in public. Many businesses make it easier to stay home with delivery options, and offices are having their workers use video and telephone conferencing to conduct work. If you’ve visited a grocery or hardware store recently, you may have noticed that they only let a certain percentage of people into the store at once, and those waiting in line must remain 6 feet apart. These are just some of the measures that officials have enacted to keep the public safe. But for people in prison, there’s no escape from the risk of COVID-19.
There’s a reason the virus is so dangerous in prisons—they’re crowded. You can’t social distance when you share a cell with another prisoner. You certainly can’t social distance if you’re unlucky enough to be housed in an open dormitory. Moreover, many prisons are past 100% capacity. For that, we have the criminal justice system to blame. Once you get in, it’s hard to get out. And if you do, there’s a good chance you’ll go back. Like it or not, this is the way the system is designed: to disproportionately imprison minorities and keep them trapped in the vicious cycle of poverty and subsequent incarceration.
And it’s not just prisoners who are in harm’s way: Correctional officers and other jail staff have no choice but to remain in close proximity with the virus as it spreads through prison populations. Prisoners are sharing showers, toilets, dining halls, and common areas without proper equipment. Keep in mind that many prisons ban hand sanitizer because of its high alcohol content.
With every day that passes, there are new coronavirus cases among incarcerated people. Rikers Island has particularly high numbers of infected inmates. In a press conference, President Trump promised that he is “looking at” the possibility of releasing elderly federal prisoners who are at the highest risk, but there have yet to be any legitimate releases. This is why many advocates continue to call for mass release to prevent mass death from COVID-19, and for good reason. We have to ask ourselves: Is prison (especially amid this crisis) a disproportionate punishment for low-level, non-violent crimes?
