Texas, the Coronavirus, Wrongful Convictions, and Prisons (Austin Statesman)
Rosa Jimenez, a mother with Stage 4 Kidney Disease, was already supposed to be released from prison after judges found compelling evidence of her innocence. But she is stuck in a cell in Texas, where her potential exposure to the coronavirus could prove fatal. She is not alone. Texas has been dragging its feet on […]
New Jersey’s Prisons and the Coronavirus
New Jersey just took a major step toward protecting the public from the coronavirus. It ordered the release of nearly 1,000 low-level offenders in county jails – which represents about one-tenth of the jail population. This makes good sense. Jails and prisons are breeding grounds for viral diseases. People in prison live on top […]
Nineteen Prison Deaths in Two Months
This past Wednesday, Omar Beard died in a Mississippi prison of “natural causes.” He was only 36-years-old. Beard is the nineteenth death to occur in a Mississippi prison in the last two months. People in Mississippi prisons have died from homicide, suicide and what the State describes as “natural deaths.” They have died from neglect, […]