READ RECOMMENDATIONS HERE MAY 29th, 2020
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. prisons and jails face a public health catastrophe due to existing unsanitary and overcrowded conditions of confinement. Medical experts have called for reductions in incarceration levels to limit overcrowding and protect those individuals in custody who are at high risk of serious illness and death from COVID-19. To help stem the spread of COVID-19, Congress must take immediate action to reduce the number of people detained by federal agencies, including the Bureau of Prisons and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Congress also should incentivize states and localities to reduce levels of youth and adult incarceration and detention in order to protect vulnerable populations from COVID-19. If Congress does not immediately respond to the risk of COVID-19 outbreaks at incarceration and detention facilities nationwide, it will face a humanitarian crisis that will impact families and communities across the nation and prevent the U.S. from fully overcoming the domestic COVID-19 epidemic.
The Justice Roundtable, a national coalition of more than 100 organizations, urges Congress to act on the following recommendations in its fourth COVID-19 response package under development now.
READ RECOMMENDATIONS HERE MAY 29th, 2020
Review of the United States Marshals Service’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
Pandemic’s Deadly Toll Behind Bars Spurs Calls For Change In U.S. Jails And Prisons
Prisons and jails have become a ‘public health threat’ during the pandemic, advocates say
Improving Health Equity for Women Involved in the Criminal Legal System
Elderly Texas Prisoners Can Be Denied Soap And Hand Sanitizer, Court Rules
Split 5 to 4, Supreme Court Rules for California Jail Over Virus Measures
MY FRIEND DIED IN SAN QUENTIN DUE TO COVID-19. HIS DEATH WAS ENTIRELY PREVENTABLE.
Two more inmates die in Kentucky state prisons, bringing COVID-19 death toll to eight
Office Of Inspector General Critical Of Bureau Of Prisons Response To Covid-19
Disability Rights Activists Take On Twin Pandemics of Racist Police Brutality & COVID-19
Coronavirus VIII: Prisons & Jails: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
The Coronavirus Crisis Inside Prisons Won’t Stay Behind Bars
Juneteenth Forum to Address COVID-19, Killing of Black People
Federal Bureau of Prisons Goes into National Lockdown Over Protests
Coalition Letter to House and Senate Leadership on Federal Policing Priorities
Police responded very differently to protests over George Floyd and the COVID-19 lockdown
Trump Justice Department Killed Police Reform Programs That Could Have Helped Minneapolis
For Children, A Parent In Prison During The Pandemic Heightens Anxiety
The Case for Reparations in Tulsa, Oklahoma: A Human Rights Argument
May 29, 2020 | Justice Roundtable COVID-19 Updated Summary Recommendations to Congress
You Can’t Follow CDC COVID-19 Guidelines From a Cell: It’s Time to #FreeThemNow
ACLU Submission to DOJ Commission on Law Enforcement & Justice
DPA Video: Reconsidering Reentry: Exploring Decarceration in its Fullness Amid COVID-19
Civil Rights, Law Enforcement Leaders Urge Police to Protect Public Health while Safeguarding Rights
NAARC Commissioner Kamm Howard’s interview with the Real News Network
Common urges jail releases amid pandemic with #WeMatterToo video short: WATCH
Senators Schatz and Biden introduce bill to improve compassionate release
The CDC Must Adopt Decarceration as a Matter of Public Health
Executive Summary | The Justice Roundtable COVID-19 Recommendations
Norton Encourages Federal Bureau of Prisons to Release as Many D.C. Code Felons as Practicable
Summary of Justice Roundtable COVID-19 Reentry Recommendations
Covid-19 is spreading in jails. Here’s how to safely release those inmates convicted as children.
[New Report]: Human Rights Watch on Covid-19 in Jails and Prisons w/ Recommendations
Isolated and scared: The plight of juveniles locked up during the coronavirus pandemic
As Coronavirus Strikes Prisons, Hundreds of Thousands Are Released
Black female inmates and COVID-19: Medically compromised, vulnerable and neglected
New York Rolled Back Bail Reform. What Will Other States Do?
The 470,000 Potential Voters Most Likely To Be Disenfranchised Next Election
Advocacy organizations call for compassionate release of elderly, sick prisoners
New model on impact of mass incarceration on COVID-19 deaths
Wale “Sue Me” Song and Video Tackles Racial Disparities in Criminal Justice System
Grassley / Durbin letter requesting greater DOJ IG oversight of BOP COVID-19 response
Trump administration reverses prisoner coronavirus release policy, advocates say
Federal Prisons Pose ‘Imminent Danger’ in Spreading COVID-19, Union Says
Fears of prison rioting escalate as coronavirus causes staff shortages
Probation and Parole Officers Are Rethinking Their Rules As COVID-19 Spreads
Congressional Progressive Caucus April 9, 2020 letter to Speaker Pelosi
Coronavirus Small Business Loans Exclude People With Criminal Records
Inside the deadly Oakdale federal prison, the coronavirus creates fear and danger
Large scale releases and public safety | Prison Policy Initiative
Lawsuit seeks early release of inmates vulnerable to COVID-19 | Raleigh News & Observer
Letter to Governors- Brennan Center- Release Vulnerable People from Incarceration
We’ll see many more covid-19 deaths in prisons if Barr and Congress don’t act now
COVID-19 and Jail Releases: Collaborating to Keep Communities Safe and Healthy
Webinar: Influencing the Congressional Response to COVID-19 in Prisons
NNJ Strategy Call- COVID-19 Jails, Prison, and Detention Facilities at a Crossroads
Early Data Shows African Americans Have Contracted and Died of Coronavirus at an Alarming Rate
How to Ensure Safe, Effective Release and Reentry in the Time of Coronavirus
BOP Orders Oakdale Guard to Work Despite Coronavirus Contact
Hill letter regarding attention to and release of “old law” federal prisoners
Cuomo’s Bail Reform Reversal Risks Explosive Coronavirus Spread in Jails
Federal Prisoners and COVID-19: Background and Authorities to Grant Release
Public Statement on Coronavirus and Mass Incarceration organized by Formerly Incarcerated People
THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC MAKES THE CASE FOR CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM
Webinar: Coronavirus in Prisons, Jails: An Emergency We Need To Address Now
Andrew Cuomo, Stop a Coronavirus Disaster: Release People From Prison
Bi-Partisan Letter To President for Commutations Due to COVID-19
OUR LEADERS HAVE THE POWER TO RELEASE PEOPLE IN PRISON. NOW THEY MUST USE IT.
Larry Hogan Can Lead by Addressing Covid-19 in Prisons and Jails
Booker, Harris, Jeffries Introduce Bill Aimed at Vulnerable Individuals Behind Bars
Bipartisan Senate Letter to DOJ on Expediting Compassionate Release
Call-to-Action -Covid-19- Justice Roundtable Social Media Toolkit
Senator Kamala Harris’s Letters to Federal Bureau of Prisons
Federal Public and Community Defenders Letter to AG Barr and the BOP Director
COVID-19 VIRUS: Children of Incarcerated Parents Demand Action to Protect Our Parents Behind Bars
ACLU Demands the Release from Prisons and Jails of Communities Vulnerable to COVID-19
In hardest-hit states, coronavirus is grinding justice to a halt
SAN FRANCISCO OFFICIALS PUSH TO REDUCE JAIL POPULATION TO PREVENT CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK
Five lessons pandemics can teach us about criminal justice reform