Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Report: 80% of Inmates in Texas Jails Who Died Of COVID Were Awaiting Trial
Vox: 80 Percent Of Those Who Died Of Covid-19 In Texas County Jails Were Never Convicted Of A Crime
Over 230 people have died from Covid-19 in Texas’s correctional facilities — and in county jails, nearly 80 percent of them were in pretrial detention and hadn’t even been convicted of a crime, according to a new report. A team of researchers at the University of Texas at Austin reviewed data from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), which has reported that at least 231 people have died of Covid-19 in the state’s correctional facilities between March and October. This report only looked at state-operated prisons and county-operated jails, as researchers were focused on how Texas’s Covid-19 prison policies had fared. (Demsas, 11/12)
Also —
The Washington Post: Prisons And Jails Have Become A ‘Public Health Threat’ During The Pandemic, Advocates Say
Nobody knows how the novel coronavirus sneaked through the barbed wire and imposing gates of Ohio’s Pickaway Correctional Institution, where visitors and volunteers were barred from entering in March. But the first case showed up April 4. Within a week, 23 inmates and 17 staff members were found to be infected. One inmate, Charles Viney Jr., a 66-year-old with a collapsed lung, died hours after testing positive. Within a month, more than three-quarters of Pickaway’s roughly 2,000 inmates were confirmed positive. By the end of May, 35 were dead. (Standifer and Stead Sellers, 11/11)
NPR: Pandemic's Deadly Toll Behind Bars Spurs Calls For Change In U.S. Jails And Prisons
Prisoner's rights advocates are pleading for more action to help stop the deadly toll taken by the pandemic that has ravaged America's jails and prisons. Their calls come as the country grapples with increases in cases and hospitalizations from the coronavirus, forcing states and cities to impose tougher restrictions on public gatherings. The advocates want faster, early release of older and medically vulnerable inmates, those nearing their parole date, as well as non-violent prisoners with a track record of good behavior. (Westervelt, 11/12)
Lex18.com: Family Fears For Inmates As COVID-19 Cases In Kentucky Prisons Rise
As COVID-19 cases rise across Kentucky’s communities, so do the number of cases in the state’s prison system. There are a total of 367 active COVID-19 cases in the state’s 14 correctional facilities, according to the Kentucky Department of Correction’s most recent data. (Millar, 11/11)
The Morning Sun: COVID Outbreak Infects 131 Inmates In St. Louis Prison
An outbreak of COVID-19 has infected 131 inmates at Central Michigan Correctional Facility in the last 10 days, leaving family of inmates fearing for their safety. Evelyn Jones, who lives in the Detroit area, is one of them. "Mama, I just don't want to die in here," she said her son Ricardo told her during a recent phone call. (Baerren, 11/12)
The Morning Call: Serious COVID-19 Outbreak Threatens Hundreds At Pa. Prison For Medically Vulnerable
A serious coronavirus outbreak is unfolding inside the Pennsylvania prison facility for medically vulnerable inmates diagnosed with cancer or other health problems, and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are urgently pushing for a release plan. Four inmates at the Laurel Highlands facility in Somerset are in the hospital, and the facility reported its first death of the pandemic last week. In total, one-fifth of the prison’s inmates and staff are positive. (Jaafari, 11/12)
AP: Over 100 Active Virus Cases At West Virginia Federal Prison
There are 107 active cases of the coronavirus among inmates at a federal correctional institution in West Virginia. Gilmer County Health Department announced the numbers on Wednesday. The county of about 8,500 in central West Virginia has two other active cases. The federal facility has nearly 1,300 inmates. (11/13)
KSTP.Com: DOC Commissioner Responds To Family Members' Concerns About COVID Spread In Prisons
As COVID-19 cases increase across Minnesota, the disease is also spreading within the Department of Corrections’ facilities. Inmates at nine of the state's 11 prisons have now tested positive for the virus. Most notably, two inmates died in June after contracting COVID-19 while in custody at the Faribault facility. A third inmate died Nov. 1 after contracting the disease at the Stillwater prison. (Gray, 11/12)
