This week, we've published two new handy resources about COVID-19 and the criminal justice system. And we've logged several updates about what state and local governments are doing to prevent the virus from spreading in jails and prisons. (See sidebar).

Explainer: We can safely release thousands of people from prison right now — history proves it

Most prisons and many jails have done very little to reduce the population density that puts both incarcerated people and staff at grave risk. To justify their lack of action, we’re hearing officials imply that saving the lives of people behind bars is not worth the inevitable public safety cost of releasing them. This talking point is simply out of step with history.

In a new briefing, we show that large-scale releases have been common throughout U.S. and international history for a variety of legal, political and health reasons. We offer a (non-exhaustive) summary of 14 notable examples.

Read more and see the 14 examples at https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2020/04/09/large-scale-releases/.

New spreadsheet: tracking the statements of Departments of Corrections on the COVID-19 virus

We released a 50-state spreadsheet showing what each state Department of Corrections has told the public about its virus response plan. The spreadsheet includes:

• Links to each state’s COVID-19 page or its archive of press releases
• Links to the infection and fatality trackers for each state (about half of all states have this)
• Notes on whether each state is addressing 15 separate topics, including the suspension of visits, increased access to hygiene materials, isolation plans, etc.

Read more and see the full spreadsheet at https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2020/04/08/virus-statements/.