Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Panel Of California Judges Rules Against Mass Release Of State Inmates, For Now
A panel of federal judges has rebuffed a bid to order a mass release of California prison inmates in an effort to reduce the danger posed by the coronavirus. The three-judge panel did not rule out the possibility that lawyers for inmates could eventually win a court-ordered reduction in the state’s prison population of roughly 120,000 to allow more social distancing, especially for elderly prisoners and those with pre-existing medical conditions. Proponents of slashing California’s prison rolls took their request to three judges who, in 2009, ordered the state not to exceed 137.5% of the intended capacity of its prisons. (Gerstein, 4/5)
Some inmates at Alabama state prison facilities asking for help amid the novel coronavirus pandemic highlighted what they described as broader threats inside the U.S. prison system. "It’s fixin’ to be a mass grave site," one prisoner said in exclusive footage obtained by ABC News. (Doherty and Cannon, 4/5)
In the months before the coronavirus infiltrated the U.S., a 49-year-old inmate began drafting a letter inside the walls of a federal prison in Louisiana. The man, Patrick Jones, had been locked up for nearly 13 years on a nonviolent drug charge. He hadn't seen his youngest son, then 16, since the boy was a toddler. (Schapiro, 4/5)
With the coronavirus cases skyrocketing at the Federal Correctional Institution at Oakdale, U.S. Attorney General William Barr ordered the Bureau of Prisons to give highest priority to the Louisiana prison complex, where five inmates have died and more than a dozen others remain hospitalized. (Rechdahl, 4/4)
Two weeks after Gov. Tony Evers ordered Wisconsinites to stay at home and avoid close contact with people outside their own households, the first Wisconsin prisoner has tested positive for coronavirus. Of about 23,000 inmates in Wisconsin’s prisons, 66 have been tested, according to corrections spokeswoman Anna Neal.Forty-two of those tests came back negative. The department continues to wait on the results of the other 23. (Barton, 4/4)
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has ruled that some prisoners can be released from state jails and prisons in an effort to stem the spread of COVID-19. The 45-page ruling says pre-trial detainees not charged with certain violent offenses and those held on technical probation and parole violations are eligible for hearings to determine if they can be released. The ruling does not affect those who have been sentenced. (Becker, 4/3)
