
According to yesterday’s New York Times, 7 of the 10 largest Covid-19 clusters in the United States are prisons and jails: Marion Correctional Institution, Marion, Ohio, 2,168 cases; Pickaway Correctional Institution, Scioto Township, Ohio, 1,632 cases; Cook County Jail, Chicago, Illinois, 812 cases; Cummins Unit prison, Grady, Arkansas, 695 cases; Neuse Correctional Institution, Goldsboro, N.C., 457 cases; Parnall Correctional Facility, Jackson, Michigan, 232 cases; Stateville Correctional Center, Cresthill, Illinois, 191 cases; for a grand total of 6187 reported cases, and that was yesterday. The numbers continue to rise. (For example, on Sunday, Marion Correctional reported 1828 cases among the prison population, 73% of the prisoners. As of yesterday, the number was 2168, a 6 percent increase in three days.) As of this afternoon, 26 states have fewer than 6100 reported cases. Really, what else is there to say? We made this particular mess, this is who we are, we built our own archipelago of death and now we are told we are all in “this” together. Do not look away.
In the past two days, two reports have come out, one concerning the certain catastrophe built into U.S. jails; the other concerning the certain catastrophe built into prisons and jails across the globe. While horrifying, none of this new or unknown.
According to a report by the ACLU and researchers from Washington State University, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Tennessee, a failure, or better refusal, to reduce jail populations will result in an additional 100,000 to close to 200,000 deaths. Why? Overcrowding. “The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world — with only 4 percent of the world’s population but 21 percent of the world’s incarcerated population …. Given the overcrowding and substandard conditions in most U.S. jails and prisons, standard public health interventions to `flatten the curve’ and prevent the spread of COVID-19 are simply not feasible. Most are unable to allow for six feet of social distancing among incarcerated people and staff and lack the facilities that allow for the recommended hand washing and cleaning of surfaces. Moreover, the health care available in our nation’s jails is chronically substandard, further fueling the growth of the pandemic and increasing mortality rates among those infected while in jail …. Jails, in particular, also act as vectors for infection in their surrounding communities. Jails are revolving doors for incarceration and face 10.7 million admissions a year3. That’s an admission every three seconds in America.” None of this, absolutely none of this, is new or surprising. It’s bad, but it’s not startling.
According to a report issued today by Penal Reform International, with the Thailand Institute of Justice, what’s true of U.S. jails, prisons and detention centers is true as well for much of the world’s population. The report opens: “Over 11 million people are imprisoned globally, the highest number yet. Around 102 countries reported prison occupancy levels of over 110 per cent. The magnitude of issues and associated human rights violations stemming from over-imprisonment became clear in efforts to prevent and contain outbreaks of COVID-19 in prisons.” Where in the incarcerated world are the women? In toxic, overcrowded, overly punitive, misogynistic, even femicidal prisons: “Almost ten years since their adoption, the UN Bangkok Rules on women prisoners and non-custodial alternatives for women remain largely unimplemented. The global female prison population doubled in twenty years, yet justice systems and institutions remain largely designed for a homogeneous male population …. People who have not been found guilty of a crime outnumber convicted people in prison in at least 46 countries. Minorities, foreign nationals, women and the poorest people of our societies are all more likely to be detained on remand …. Prohibition-based drug policies have driven prison populations up. Over 2 million people are in prison for drug-related offences, 83 per cent of them serving a sentence for drug possession for personal use. A larger proportion of women than men are imprisoned for drug offences.” The report goes on to detail the particularities of abuse for the fastest growing prison population, globally as well as in the world’s leading incarcerator and leading proponent of incarceration as the only way forward.
PRI’s Executive Director, Florian Irminger, summed up the four horsemen of today’s apocalypse, which is the apocalypse of the past four decades: “Overcrowding, lack of basic healthcare, limited access to clean water, inhumane living conditions.” None of this is new. It’s bad, but it’s not surprising. Overcrowding kills, overcrowding always has killed. As prison suicide and self-harm rates of the last four decades has shown, overcrowding morbidity has a woman’s face and body.
We are told, and many of us would want to believe, that we are in this together. Together would mean that one doesn’t get to choose the outer boundaries of we. If we are in this together, let’s together end the overcrowding of prisons, jails, immigration centers, juvenile detention. Let’s not forget refugee camps: “As of May 2019, 90 per cent of the 73,000 people living in the al-Hol camp in Syria were women and children.” Wherever you are, local organizations and coalitions are organizing to empty the cells, immediately, and then to make sure that they are never again stocked with humans treated as so much trash. Reducing, and ending once and for all, overcrowding in carceral spaces is not rocket science. It simply involves all of us being in this together. Please, do not look away.

(Photo Credit: The Guardian/Tannen Maury/EPA) (Infographic Credit: ACLU)
Pa. prisons face a deadly ‘full-blown resurgence’ of COVID-19 https://www.corrections1.com/coronavirus-covid-19/articles/pa-prisons-face-a-deadly-full-blown-resurgence-of-covid-19-fApiJ1k3IxD1V7GT/
Inmates didn’t get masks prior to one of Colo.’s largest COVID-19 outbreaks https://www.corrections1.com/coronavirus-covid-19/articles/inmates-didnt-get-masks-prior-to-one-of-colos-largest-covid-19-outbreaks-TajlHJhmK5PkHNEm/
COVID-19 still rages in America’s prisons. Here’s how states can save lives behind bars. https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2020/11/13/how-states-can-reduce-spread-covid-19-pandemic-prisons-column/6262565002/
Detention Centers and Jails Have Become COVID-19 Hotbeds. It’s Time for Community-Based Solutions https://msmagazine.com/2020/11/13/custodial-spaces-detention-centers-jails-covid-19-community-based-solutions-decarceration/
We know how COVID-19 enters Michigan prisons. One thing could stop it | Opinion https://www.freep.com/story/opinion/contributors/2020/11/13/covid-19-mandatory-staff-tests-michigan-prisons/6233718002/
Public Defenders In D.C. Say The U.S. Parole Commission Is Keeping Too Many People Jailed During The Pandemic | DCist https://dcist.com/story/20/11/16/us-parole-commission-dc-jail-coronavirus-covid19-pandemic/
Cluster of Inmate COVID-19 Cases Identified in Delaware’s Vaughn Prison http://www.wboc.com/story/42917694/cluster-of-inmate-covid19-cases-identified-in-delawares-vaughn-prison
COVID-19 cluster found in a Delaware prison https://www.delawarepublic.org/post/covid-19-cluster-found-delaware-prison
New COVID cluster at Delaware’s largest prison https://whyy.org/articles/new-covid-cluster-at-delawares-largest-prison/
Official: Federal La. prison left inmates with COVID-19 in housing for a week https://www.corrections1.com/coronavirus-covid-19/articles/official-federal-la-prison-left-inmates-with-covid-19-in-housing-for-a-week-nLzN1ssNnFsZfEHX/
Has Saguaro Prison Failed To Protect Hawaii Inmates From COVID-19? https://www.civilbeat.org/2020/11/has-saguaro-prison-failed-to-protect-hawaii-inmates-from-covid-19/
COVID-19 outbreak at Wyoming prison could be harbinger of more to come https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2020/11/19/covid-19-outbreak-wyoming-prison-could-harbinger-more-come/6337883002/
“They’re Praying Nobody Dies”: 240 Prisoners Sick With COVID Inside Fort Dix Prison https://gothamist.com/news/240-prisoners-sick-with-covid-inside-fort-dix-prison
ACLU: Conditions at Nevada corrections facilities ‘a human rights nightmare’ https://thisisreno.com/2020/11/aclu-conditions-at-nevada-corrections-facilities-a-human-rights-nightmare/
America Is Letting the Coronavirus Rage Through Prisons https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/21/opinion/sunday/coronavirus-prisons-jails.html
Oklahoma Watch: Prisoner recalls COVID-19 outbreak as ’10 times worse’ than he expected https://tulsaworld.com/news/state-and-regional/oklahoma-watch-prisoner-recalls-covid-19-outbreak-as-10-times-worse-than-he-expected/article_75ff5a24-2b4e-11eb-971b-d74df88fe7fd.html
Union Leader Calls For A ‘Shelter-In-Place’ At Iowa Prisons To Curb Deadly COVID-19 Outbreaks https://www.iowapublicradio.org/ipr-news/2020-11-23/union-leader-calls-for-a-shelter-in-place-at-iowa-prisons-to-curb-deadly-covid-19-outbreaks
Another inmate dead as COVID-19 cases surpass 8,000 in Wisconsin prison system https://madison.com/wsj/news/local/crime-and-courts/another-inmate-dead-as-covid-19-cases-surpass-8-000-in-wisconsin-prison-system/article_ab45ce1c-a560-5357-b80e-61a99851d118.html
Hawaii inmate dies at Arizona prison, sparks outrage over lack in COVID-19 protection https://www.kitv.com/story/42952694/hawaii-inmate-dies-at-arizona-prison-sparks-outrage-over-lack-in-covid19-protection
An uphill battle against COVID-19 in prisons https://www.cityandstateny.com/articles/policy/criminal-justice/uphill-battle-against-covid-19-prisons.html
While COVID-19 Spreads In NY Prisons, Loved Ones On The Outside Plead With Cuomo For Clemency https://gothamist.com/news/while-covid-19-spreads-ny-prisons-loved-ones-outside-plead-cuomo-clemency
ACLU Sues El Paso County Sheriff Over Jail’s COVID-19 Response https://coloradotimesrecorder.com/2020/12/aclu-sues-el-paso-county-sheriff-over-jails-covid-19-response/33155/
ACLU files lawsuit claiming EPC Sheriff failed at providing COVID-19 protections to inmates https://www.koaa.com/news/covering-colorado/aclu-files-lawsuit-against-el-paso-county-sheriff-for-denying-masks-and-covid-19-protections-to-people-in-jail
COVID-19 outbreak at state prison in Tuolumne County infects 50 more inmates https://www.uniondemocrat.com/news/article_9055f6fa-40d2-11eb-ab8b-13e59a33e16e.html
Michigan prisoner deaths from COVID-19 surpass 100 https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2020/12/17/prisoner-covid-coronavirus-deaths-michigan/3925458001/
‘Like a war zone’: Prison that freed Paul Manafort early now ravaged by Covid https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/war-zone-prison-freed-paul-manafort-early-now-ravaged-covid-n1251783
Why incarcerated people should be prioritized for COVID-19 vaccination https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/features/perspectives-why-incarcerated-people-should-be-prioritized-for-covid-19-vaccination/
Inmates Are Among Most Vulnerable In The Pandemic. When Will They Get Vaccinated? https://www.npr.org/2020/12/18/948133239/inmates-are-among-most-vulnerable-in-the-pandemic-when-will-they-get-vaccinated
In Massachusetts, Inmates Will Be Among First to Get Vaccines https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/18/health/coronavirus-vaccine-prisons-massachusetts.html
‘This seems at best neglectful.’ How a once-healthy N.C. prison became a COVID-19 hotspot. https://greensboro.com/news/state-and-regional/crime-and-courts/this-seems-at-best-neglectful-how-a-once-healthy-n-c-prison-became-a-covid/article_df22bf98-4235-11eb-b2e1-93f7253c3400.html
In American jails and prisons, more than 400,000 people have been infected and at least 1,800 inmates and correctional officers have died. During interviews with dozens of inmates across the country, many said they were frightened and frustrated by what prison officials have acknowledged has been an uneven response to the virus. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-us-cases.html
Moving People—and Coronavirus—From Prison to Prison https://www.themarshallproject.org/2020/12/21/moving-people-and-coronavirus-from-prison-to-prison
Coronavirus at Illinois Department of Corrections leaves loved ones in dark: report https://abc7chicago.com/society/covid-19-in-il-prisons-leaves-loved-ones-in-dark-report/8930421/
States Are Shutting Down Prisons as Guards are Crippled By Covid-19 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/01/us/coronavirus-prisons-jails-closing.html
https://www.commercial-news.com/news/covid-19-cases-still-rising-at-hard-hit-danville-prison/article_eba49c90-4c5e-11eb-bb57-6727183b8441.html | COVID-19 cases still rising at hard-hit Danville prison
Coronavirus in the U.S.: Latest Map and Case Count https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-us-cases.html
Early vaccination in prisons, a public health priority, proves politically charged https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/01/02/covid-vaccine-prisons/
‘Leaving us to die’: Missouri inmates allege state has mismanaged response to COVID https://www.kansascity.com/news/state/missouri/article248145955.html
Confronted with significant flaws in coronavirus data, Pa. corrections officials concede ‘it’s unacceptable’ https://www.inquirer.com/health/coronavirus/spl/pennsylvania-prisons-coronavirus-deaths-data-transparency-20210129.html
As prisons and jails in California battle COVID-19, some inmate deaths go uncounted http://www.cbs8.com/article/news/local/california/ca-prisons-jails-covid-19/509-f1de7e95-e5b4-4205-afa8-c3122e8bd761
Prisons have already failed to contain Covid-19. What happens when the new variants arrive? https://www.vox.com/22256219/covid-19-new-variants-prisons-jails-vaccines-masks
Prisons a perfect storm of COVID-19 and systemic racism https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/opinion/2021/01/30/guest-opinion-prisons-perfect-storm-covid-19-and-systemic-racism/4285731001/
Report: For every 1,000 people incarcerated in Colorado prisons, 557 have contracted COVID-19 http://www.9news.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/for-every-1000-people-incarcerated-in-colorado-prisons-557-have-contracted-covid-19/73-b1434ce3-1581-4814-a876-68eb2725b2d4
‘It’s just a matter of time’: Inmates detail horrid conditions amid COVID spike in Oregon prisons https://www.oregonlive.com/coronavirus/2021/01/its-just-a-matter-of-time-inmates-detail-horrid-conditions-amid-covid-spike-in-oregon-prisons.html
Inspector General: California prison transfers during coronavirus caused public health disaster at San Quentin https://www.ktvu.com/news/inspector-general-california-prison-transfers-during-coronavirus-caused-public-health-disaster-at-san-quentin
Prison officials ignored warnings before inmate transfer that led to virus outbreak, watchdog says https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-02-01/california-prisons-ignored-warnings-covid-outbreaks
Watch how quickly a COVID outbreak exploded through a California prison https://www.motherjones.com/mojo-wire/2021/02/covid-outbreak-san-quentin-california/
Fresno County jail has most COVID cases of any jail or prison in U.S. https://abc30.com/health/fresno-county-jail-has-most-covid-cases-of-any-jail-or-prison-in-us/10229684/
COVID-19 Is Turning Prison Stints Into Death Sentences https://www.nashvillescene.com/news/features/article/21145777/covid19-is-turning-prison-stints-into-death-sentences
California prison transfer led to dozens of deaths and endangered thousands – state watchdog https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/feb/02/prisons-coronavirus-covid-deaths-california-pandemic
With 13,000 infected, 100 dead of COVID-19 in Pa. prisons, advocates urge faster releases https://www.inquirer.com/news/pennsylvania-prison-pandemic-coronavirus-parole-doc-20210203.html
Texas prisons have doled out thousands of COVID-19 vaccines — but none have gone to prisoners who get the virus at high rates https://www.ksat.com/news/texas/2021/02/03/texas-prisons-have-doled-out-thousands-of-covid-19-vaccines-but-none-have-gone-to-prisoners-who-get-the-virus-at-high-rates/
Coronavirus in Oregon: Judge orders inmates be prioritized for COVID-19 vaccines; 23 new deaths reported statewide https://www.oregonlive.com/coronavirus/2021/02/coronavirus-in-oregon-judge-orders-inmates-be-prioritized-for-covid-19-vaccines-23-new-deaths-reported-statewide.html
In a first, a federal judge orders Oregon state prisons to vaccinate inmates. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/03/world/oregon-prison-inmates-vaccine.html
Lawsuit Alleges ‘Willful Indifference’ Led To Deadly Conditions In Oregon Prisons https://www.npr.org/2021/02/03/963730386/lawsuit-alleges-willful-indifference-led-to-deadly-conditions-in-oregon-prisons
Iowa had more parole hearings and inmates approved for parole in 2020, but release rate shrank https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/crime-and-courts/2021/02/03/lower-rate-prison-release-iowa-inmates-parole-granted-2020-covid/4295575001/
COVID-19 is Spreading Faster Than Ever. Jail Populations are Surging, Too https://theappeal.org/covid-19-jail-populations-surging/
What the Pandemic Revealed About ‘Progressive’ Prosecutors https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/04/opinion/prosecutors-bail-reform.html
California issues largest COVID-19 penalty to San Quentin State Prison after deadly outbreak https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/the-state-worker/article249017125.html
Prisoners And The Pandemic: A Year Into COVID, Crowded Jails Fuel Infections In Ohio Valley https://wfpl.org/prisoners-and-the-pandemic-a-year-into-covid-crowded-jails-fuel-infections-in-ohio-valley/
Covid Outbreaks Devastated Prisons, but State Inmates’ Access to the Vaccine Varies Widely https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/17/us/covid-prisoners-vaccine.html
New report, Forgotten Behind Bars: COVID-19 and Prisons, reveals how crisis is growing in detention facilities https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/03/prisoners-forgotten-in-covid-19-pandemic-as-crisis-grows-in-detention-facilities/