Last week, the Senate majority released its proposed COVID-19 response package. It fails to protect people who remain incarcerated, reduce overcrowding in jails and prisons so that people can practice social distancing, and safely support individuals reentering the community during this pandemic.
Congress has spent less than one penny per response dollar protecting people who are incarcerated, despite the fact that the top ten largest known COVID-19 outbreaks are in correctional facilities.
At least 100,000 people in prisons and jails have been infected and at least 763 incarcerated people and correctional workers have died. Being in prison shouldn’t condemn you to contracting a deadly disease — we can’t allow this to continue.
Addressing COVID-19 in carceral settings and upon reentry would not only protect the health of individuals who are incarcerated, but also would protect Black people and communities of color that are disproportionately impacted by both the criminal legal system and COVID-19, as well as the broader public health of the communities surrounding carceral facilities nationwide.
The Innocence Project exonerates the wrongly convicted through DNA testing and reforms the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice. www.innocenceproject.org
