The number of federal and state prison inmates who have been infected with the coronavirus is expected to blow past 50,000 in the coming days as cases spike nationwide, according to criminal justice experts.
The Justice Action Network, a bipartisan criminal justice reform organization, predicted Wednesday that the total number of cases in all prisons, not including county jails, will hit 50,000 “within days.”
“Fifty thousand. This horrifying number of infections and deaths pains us but does not surprise us,” the organization’s president and executive director, Holly Harris, said in a statement. “Congress must ensure in the next relief bill that local officials have the resources they need to reduce incarceration and avoid reaching catastrophic numbers like these, but lawmakers have not done enough to date.”
As of June 23, a total of 48,764 people in prison had tested positive, including 2,500 new cases that week, according to Marshall Project data. Texas’s state prison system leads the nation with more than 7,500 cases among inmates, followed by the federal prison system’s 6,621 cases. Ohio reported the third-highest number with 4,950 cases, while Michigan and California followed with more than 3,800 cases each.
Approximately 1.5 million people were in federal and state prisons, according to a March report by the Prison Policy Initiative.
Of the nearly 50,000 who have tested positive, 27,715 prisoners recovered, and 585 prisoners died, including 91 in federal facilities.
The Bureau of Prisons did not respond to a question about whether it agreed with the Marshall Project’s numbers.
Harris said the detention facilities are a “breeding ground” for the virus due to overcrowding, a lack of medical resources, and unsanitary conditions. The bureau said it is following guidelines by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
