New coalition letter urges Prez Biden "to aggressively reduce jail and prison populations" in first 100 day
Via email this afternoon, I learned of this new extended letter addressed to Prez Biden on behalf of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and organizations urging various criminal justice with particular focus on "the health and safety of incarcerated individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic." The full letter covers lots of ground, and here is its first substative paragraph:
While the pandemic jeopardizes everyone’s safety, incarcerated individuals are much more likely to be people with disabilities or to have pre-existing health conditions, making them exceptionally vulnerable due to overcrowding, unsanitary prison conditions, and a lack of access to quality healthcare services. Though the COVID-19 vaccine is a critical advancement, distribution to incarcerated populations will take precious time, and correctional medical experts expect participation rates will be low because the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has failed to pair vaccine rollout with needed outreach and education. Indeed, BOP has already reported a low adherence rate by staff to the vaccine: a January 15, 2021 BOP press release reported that roughly half of staff had agreed to accept the vaccine. Moreover, the emergence of new strains of the virus that are potentially more contagious and deadly means that the need to protect high-risk individuals remains as urgent as ever. To uphold your campaign commitments to advance racial justice and criminal justice reform and effectively confront COVID-19 during your first 100 days, it is imperative that you use existing authorities to aggressively reduce jail and prison populations.
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