North America

Los Angeles, CA

3/30/20

LA Times: L.A. jail inmates say lack of soap and toilet paper heightens coronavirus fear: ‘Like slow torture’

Concern: Cleaning Supply Shortage, Lack of Information

“This is worse than a cruise ship,” Kristopher Howard, an inmate who has been in jail for almost a year and a half, said in a phone interview from Twin Towers. “Everybody’s on top of each other. … I’m scared. I’m scared for what could happen.”

“We ask almost every day to watch the news, and they never let us,” Howard, 35, said. “We want to see what’s going on.”

3/16/20

LA Times: L.A. County releasing some inmates from jail to combat coronavirus

Approach: Early Release, Stricter Admission / Result: Dropped Arrest Rate, Jail Population Reduction

Sheriff Alex Villanueva said deputies and police officers across the county have been directed to cite and release people whenever possible, instead of arresting them, and to seek medical clearance before booking anyone who shows symptoms. Countywide, he said, arrests have dropped from a daily average of 300 to 60, while the jail population was reduced by more than 600 inmates.

New York City, New York

5/1/20

The Marshall Project: Can’t Make Bail, Sit in Jail Even Longer Thanks to Coronavirus

Concern: Arrest Procedure, hearing Procedure, Longer Stays in Jails, suspension of juries

With courts across the country largely closed by the coronavirus, defendants recently charged with felonies can expect long waits for justice. Whether they spend that time in a possibly virus-infested jail cell or at home depends on where they get arrested

…New York, in contrast, has suspended legal protections that limit jail time to six days for those who have not been indicted by a grand jury.

…There is no consensus, even within New York City, about how local courts and prosecutors should handle people arrested during the COVID-19 outbreak.

3/30/20

The Intercept: Rikers Island Prisoners are Being Offered PPE and $6 An Hour To Dig Mass Graves

Approach: Prison Labor

The offer comes as New York City continues to be the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States, with 38,000 people infected and more than 914 dead so far. New York City owns and operates a public cemetery on Hart Island, which has long been maintained by prison labor.

…In 2008, Rikers prisoners were burying roughly 20 to 25 bodies per week there, the report found…

…New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently said he would put state prisoners to work making hand sanitizer, though it was later reported that they are bottling and labeling hand sanitizer made by an outside vendor, not making it themselves….

3/30/20

The NY Times: ‘We’re Left for Dead’: Fears of Virus Catastrophe at Rikers Jail

Concern: Covid-19 Outbreak, Overcrowding, Unsanitary, Inmate, Officer, Slow to notify contact, need for an action plan

Approach: Early Release

On Sunday, he said about 650 people had been released, bringing the city’s total jail population to under 5,000 for the first time since 1949. On Friday, the mayor had said, “We know we have to do this quickly.”

Still, the rate of infection in the city jails has continued to climb, and by Monday, 167 inmates, 114 correction staff and 23 health workers had tested positive. Two correction staff members have died and a “low number” of inmates have been hospitalized, officials said.

Fear of the virus has grown among inmates and correction officers, several said in interviews. Some incarcerated people have refused to do the work assigned to them or have started disturbances, demanding more cleaning supplies and masks. Others said that correction officers who are assigned to taking people to clinics have ignored their requests for medical attention. Some correction officers said they did not have the necessary equipment to protect themselves from the virus, and that they had received little guidance from leadership.

…said jail officials had been taking as long as a week to notify officers that they had been in contact with someone who had tested positive. He urged the department to form a task force to better coordinate a response.

3/20/20

The NY Times: ‘A Storm Is Coming’: Fears of an Inmate Epidemic as the Virus Spreads in the Jails

A growing chorus of officials and public defenders in New York City are calling for the release of people who are especially vulnerable to the coronavirus. The alternative, they say, may be a public health catastrophe.

Minnesota