California Prisons To Release 3,500 Inmates To Prevent Coronavirus Spread
California is granting early release to 3,500 inmates in an effort to reduce crowding as coronavirus begin to spread throughout the prisons.
On Tuesday, lawyers for Gov. Gavin Newsom told a panel of federal judges the state is taking “extraordinary and unprecedented protective measures” to slow the spread of the virus and protect those who live and work within California’s 35 prisons.
Los Angeles Times reports:
In court filings, state lawyers said California intends to accelerate release and parole dates for 3,500 inmates serving terms for nonviolent crimes and already due to be released within 60 days. The releases are to be conducted “within the next several weeks.”
Documents provided to The Times show state prisons have been locking down cell blocks where inmates exhibit flu-like symptoms. That has heightened fears among family members, especially of those inmates who are older or at risk of severe illness from COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has shut down inmate visitation and volunteer programs, and this week began using touch thermometers to screen its 67,000 employees as they enter the lockups. In the first three days of such screening, 170 workers had temperatures and were turned away. At the same time, 886 employees on Sunday called in sick for work, a number that CDCR spokeswoman Dana Simas said is not large given the size of the workforce.
The state has also blocked the transfer of county jail inmates to prison, a decision that state lawyers told a judge will keep 3,000 additional people out of the penal system. And the state intends to move 480 to 530 inmates out of dorms, where prisoners are bunked as close as two feet apart with shared sinks and showers. They will be moved to other prison facilities, the court filing said.
Many are concerned the state hasn’t taken any steps to move those most at risk of dying from COVID-19, including older inmates and those with medical conditions, out of harm’s way.
“As long as my brother remains incarcerated, there is a real chance the two-year sentence will become a death sentence,” said Anita Astorga, whose 67-year-old brother, a diabetic, is at the Chino prison where COVID-19 cases are mounting.
There are now COVID-19 cases at 10 prisons, affecting 22 workers and four inmates. Inmate testing began March 7.
The lawyers are expecting inmates to be released over the next 60 days.
A court hearing on the emergency motion is set for Thursday. No word on how those proceedings ended.
