Many news articles and press releases from Human Rights Watch claim a gross human rights violation in South Carolina’s decision not to evacuate 934 prisoners from Ridgeland Correctional Institution as Hurricane Florence approaches.
I’m not so sure. First off, many are ignoring the fact that Governor Henry McMaster on Wednesday lifted the mandatory evacuation order for the county in which Ridgeland CI is located. And guess what? A lot of folks in that area who have the choice to stay or leave are staying put, just like the prisoners at Ridgeland. Their number includes the Marines stationed at Parris Island.
[Opinion: A message for Hurricane Florence victims, from Hurricane Katrina]
And the Marine Corps didn’t just rescind its evacuation order, they ordered all Marines to report back to Parris Island by 11.59 pm on Wednesday evening! Parris Island is roughly 20 miles from Ridgeland and sits right in the middle of two significant waterways and just next to the Atlantic Ocean. If the Marines aren’t worried about the water levels then Ridgeland CI officers probably shouldn’t be either.
We should also consider another important factor. What would the movement of so many prisoners mean for those prisoners and others in different facilities? South Carolina’s prison system is already overcrowded and understaffed. The movement of 934 medium-security prisoners would require either putting them in another medium-security or high-security prison. The likely overcrowding of multiple prisons without good cause could be a human rights violation all of its own. It’s a recipe for gang violence, harassment of the newly arriving prisoners, and problems of hygiene. This is exactly what happened in Florida when Hurricane Irma hit last September. The resulting overcrowding-related conditions in certain Florida facilities were truly abhorrent. As one prisoner put it to me, “150 men were housed in a dilapidated cell block designed for 72 men. Men had to sleep on the floor. The roof leaked. The walls leaked. Many toilets did not work.”
In short, South Carolina officials might be making the right decision.
