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http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/dsp017m01bp919| Title: | States of emergency: The failure of prison system responses to COVID-19 |
| Contributors: | Herring, Tiana Sharma, Maanas |
| Keywords: | Prisoners—Health and hygiene—United States Prisoners—Medical care—United States COVID-19 (Disease)—Government policy—United States |
| Issue Date: | Sep-2021 |
| Publisher: | Prison Policy Initiative |
| Place of Publication: | Northampton, MA |
| Description: | From the beginning of the pandemic, it was clear that densely packed prisons and jails presented dangerous conditions for the transmission of COVID-19. More than a year later, the virus has claimed more than 2,700 lives behind bars and infected 1 out of every 3 people in prison. In this report, we evaluated departments of corrections on their responses to the pandemic from the beginning of the pandemic to July 2021. We looked at a range of efforts to: Limit the number of people in prisons: States received points for reducing prison populations as well as for instituting policies that reduced admissions and facilitated earlier releases. Reduce infection and death rates behind bars: We penalized prison systems where infection and mortality rates exceeded the statewide COVID-19 infection and mortality rates, because some key decisions were based on correctional agencies’ faulty logic that prisons were controlled environments and therefore better positioned to stop the spread of infection than communities outside prison walls. Vaccinate the incarcerated population: States were rated higher for including incarcerated people in their vaccine rollout plans, as well as for higher vaccination rates among their prison populations. Address basic health (and mental health) needs through easy policy changes: We credited states for waiving or substantially reducing charges for video and phone calls, or providing masks and hygiene products to incarcerated people. States also received points for suspending medical co-pays (which can discourage people from seeking treatment), requiring staff to wear masks, and implementing regular staff COVID-19 testing. While some states performed well on one or two of these criteria, no state’s response to COVID-19 in prison has been sufficient. The highest letter grade awarded was a “C”, and most states completely failed to protect incarcerated people: |
| URI: | http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/dsp017m01bp919 |
| Related resource: | https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/states_of_emergency.html |
| Appears in Collections: | Monographic reports and papers (Publicly Accessible) |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Statesofemergency.pdf | 2.26 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Download |
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