Opinion: Decarceration can reduce Covid-19 spread. The surgeon general should make that call
The jail on New York’s Rikers Island has a coronavirus infection rate that’s seven times higher than in the surrounding city. Three inmates in a federal prison in Louisiana have died from Covid-19, with many prisoners and staff members testing positive for it. More than 100 individuals incarcerated in the crowded Cook County jail have Covid-19. The first case appeared in a jail in Harris County, Texas. And we’re just getting started.
One solution is decarceration — releasing inmates deemed to be at low risk for reoffending as a way to reduce the density inside prisons.
