The coronavirus poses a threat to everyone, regardless of age, sex, or nationality. But it’s a particularly big threat for the incarcerated. Not only do inmates live in extremely close quarters, but many prisons fail to maintain basic hygienic standards. Many prisons struggle to provide sufficient supplies of soap and paper towels in their bathrooms.
As if this weren’t bad enough, many incarcerated people find themselves doubly isolated by the Bureau of Prisons’s 30-day suspension on social visits. No longer can friends and family come to visit their loved ones in prison, and even lawyers’ visits must be approved on a case-by-case basis. This added distance has proven disastrous in Italy, where riots have broken out in several prisons, and several prisoners have escaped.
These are frightening times, and it’s easy to let ourselves get caught up in worry, speculation, and anxiety. But even amid this unprecedented situation, our duty is clear: We must continue to do all we can to protect and support our country’s incarcerated population. There are some ways we can care for those in prison in the midst of this crisis.
One is to use digital tools to contact incarcerated loved ones. Just because we cannot see those we love in person doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t reach out. Phone calls and video chat platforms enable us to stay in contact with those in our justice system. The Bureau of Prisons has instructed administrators to allow incarcerated individuals to have 500 minutes of telephone time a month, as opposed to the standard 300.
Additionally, several local and state facilities are making video calls more accessible to inmates. Shelby County, Tennessee, recently decided to make video calls free so the incarcerated can stay in contact with their families, and the Florida Department of Corrections has granted one free video visitation session and two free phone calls to all individuals incarcerated in its facilities.
Given the situation in Italy, these changes are not only the wise but the compassionate thing to do. Other state and local leaders should follow suit, giving those in prison greater opportunities to talk with their loved ones. It not only affirms the God-given dignity and humanity of those who have been placed behind bars, but it also helps them manage stress in this distressing time.
Another improvement would be to minimize incarceration for nonviolent crimes. Our prison population rate is the highest in the world, largely because of incarcerations for nonviolent drug crimes. Although we’ve made some strides to reduce mandatory minimums in recent years, adding to the prison population at this time would be dangerous and a waste of money.
New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal urged law enforcement officials to issue complaint summonses rather than complaint warrants where possible. The latter incarcerate suspects in county jails, whereas the former release suspects until their court dates. Similarly, Maine’s court system vacated all warrants for unpaid fines and fees so that individuals with outstanding debts are not brought into the county jail. And the Cuyahoga County Court in Ohio released several hundred inmates charged with nonviolent crimes so as to reduce the prison population and the likelihood that disease would spread.
These changes might seem extreme, but they are commensurate with the direness of the situation. Robert Greifinger, a doctor who spent over two decades working to improve health outcomes within our prison system, said that prisons and jails have the potential to become “incubators” of the disease, affecting not just the incarcerated, but the staff who work within these facilities and their families. In the unprecedented scenario we find ourselves in, no step is too small, and no precaution too great.
Governments can also release the elderly from prison to home confinement. Public safety is always the first and foremost concern of any effective justice system. But when it comes to the elderly, keeping them inside a correctional facility may pose a greater threat to public safety than placing them in home confinement outside it. Home confinement allows for social distancing and slows the spread of disease. Correctional facilities do the opposite and pose a particularly great threat to the health and safety of the elderly.
That’s why 43 organizations across America sent a letter to the U.S. Senate urging our leaders to include H.R. 4018 as part of the response to the virus. Unanimously passed in the House, the bill improves the Elderly Home Detention Pilot Program of the First Step Act, enabling incarcerated individuals over 60 years old who have served two-thirds of their prison sentence to complete their sentence via home confinement. These steps, and others like them, would lessen the likelihood that elderly prisoners would die as a result of the COVID-19 virus and gives them access to improved medical care outside prison walls.
Major crises like this show what a country is made of, challenging us to look beyond our own needs to care for our neighbors and friends. Thus far, America has risen to the challenge and done a remarkable job adjusting to social distancing. We cannot only care for those we love. However, we must also extend compassion to the millions of vulnerable, lonely, and forgotten individuals incarcerated in our prison system. My hope is that we will continue to remember those in prison, even in a time of crisis. Our nation thrives when we bring justice and mercy together. Let’s strive to do so as we face the uncertainty of the weeks and months ahead.
Timothy Head is executive director of the Faith and Freedom Coalition.
