Written by Allison Markman (10)

Prisons and jails amplify the spread of infectious diseases, as social distancing is nearly impossible due to the restrictions placed on inmates.. Many of those incarcerated are elderly or in poor health and are therefore extremely vulnerable to COVID-19 related complications. Criminal justice officials have a responsibility to protect the 2.3 million American people who are currently incarcerated from contracting COVID-19. The power rests in the United States justice system to mandate and propose implementations that could reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19 throughout the prison system. These changes are not just a question of policy but of human rights.

For substantial change to occur, precautions in prisons must be established and the criminal justice system should assume liability for the health and wellbeing of those they incarcerate. The Declaration of Human Rights recognizes the stature of a human’s right to health, as well as the importance of states to act in interest of “the prevention, treatment, and control of epidemic, endemic, occupational, and other diseases.”1 It is the responsibility of prisons to ensure no more prisoners contract coronavirus.. In Farmer v. Brennan, the Supreme Court found/decided that: “the Constitution does not mandate comfortable prisons, but neither does it permit inhumane ones, and…the treatment a prisoner receives in prison and the conditions under which he is confined are subject to scrutiny under the Eighth Amendment.”2 An incarcerated civilian loses many freedoms, however they must always be afforded basic human and fundamental rights protected in the Eighth Amendment. Those in prison are dying at a rate 5.5 times higher than the rest if the U.S population.3 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends wearing a face covering, staying six feet apart, and quarantining for two weeks if exposed to the virus. However, these measures are impossible to implement in prisons and jails due to overcrowding and poor living conditions.

Throughout the country, states have instituted different policies and plans to protect the lives of prisoners during the pandemic. California set a statewide emergency bail of zero dollars for all awaiting a trial for misdemeanors and low level felonies.4 This allows for a reduction in prison populations to only high level crimes, which helps reduce the potential spread of COVID-19. Since this policy was put in place, the prison population has dropped by over 30%.5 Other strategies such as reducing jail admission were passed to help slow the rapid movement of people in and out of jails. Policies like these are important to protect those incarcerated. For example, in most states, prisoners are expected to pay $2 to 5 co-pays for doctor’s visits, medication, and testing.6 Although these price rates do not seem costly, incarcerated people earn a mere 14 to 63 cents an hour for jobs. This pushes prisoners away from seeking medical treatment.

When analyzing the criminal justice system and prisons, the systemic racism of the institution as a whole must be taken into account. In America, African American and Latino adults are respectively six times more likely and 3.1 times more likely to be arrested compared to White adults. 7 In 2017, African Americans made up 12% of the U.S. adult population, but 33% of the incarcerated population. 8 Due to structural and systemic inadequacies within society, those being put at the greatest risk are people of color who have already suffered the most fatalities during the COVID-19 pandemic. These casualties are due to discrimination, healthcare inequality, and crowded housing.9 Keeping non-dangerous offenders in a system that cannot properly provide basic conditions is what continues to perpetuate the disparities in equity within our society.

Many state leaders and legislators have agreed that releasing non-violent prisoners is the best option to avoid further spread of the coronavirus in prisons, however some officials on the local level disagree. Instead, they believe that saving the lives of people behind bars is not worth the inevitable public safety concerns in releasing them, especially because many against the policy claim that those released from prison will experience homelessness or housing instability, continuing to put these individuals at risk of the virus. A survey by Prison Policy shows that formerly incarcerated people are almost 10 times more likely to be homeless when released.10 In addition, many people believe that lowering prison sentences will lead to higher rates of crime. However, St. Louis has released prisoners for COVID-19-related reasons and seen a 21% decrease in crime. Reports like these indicate no connection between releasing prisoners and rising crime rates.11 Nonetheless, reports on cities such as New York City have seen an increase of 140% in violent crimes. 12 Though these statistics may seem frightening, there is still no direct correlation between crime and the release of prisoners, especially since many of those released were sentenced for misdemeanors of non-violent offenses. An increase in violent crimes could have been caused by the recent protests for racial justice, a polarizing election, the growing rate of unemployment, or other factors.

The purpose of the criminal justice system is to keep our public safe through, deterrence and rehabilitation. However, it is time America acknowledges that those who are incarcerated should still have access to their basic human rights as laid out in the Constitution. The criminal justice system must assume liability for the health and wellbeing of those they incarcerate, and it must do so by mandating and proposing implementations that keep prisoners safe. These policies will not only help the sanctity of basic human rights, but will save millions of American lives.

Protecting Incarcerated Individuals from COVID-19

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