Prison Overcrowding
As of April 16th of this year, the Equal Justice Initiative has reported that those who are held in prisons and correctional facilities are at an increased risk of contracting Covid-19. The initiative claims that “incarcerated people are infected by the coronavirus at a rate more than five times higher than the nation’s overall rate.” The reported death toll of those imprisoned, according to the Journal of The American Medical Association in July 2020, is also higher than the average rate.
While the numbers of those who are infected in the general populous has decreased by a noticeable margin (especially in Kentucky and Calloway County), said numbers are not gone. The same can be said for those in any type of correctional facility. It is widely reported across many states that individuals who have nonviolent convictions such as theft or larceny are sharing the same space as those who have been convicted of more heinous offenses like that of murder, assault, and/or kidnapping. While their offenses may range in severity, inmates all seem to be exposed to the same punishment: Elevated risk of catching the Covid-19 virus.
What exactly is being done to combat such a threat? One step prisons and policymakers have taken is eliminating medical co-pays for those incarcerated. According to prisonpolicy.org, inmates are expected to pay for physician visits (usually $2 to $5), leading to deterrence from seeking medical help and putting the jail/prison population at a health risk. Eliminating this payment has led to a higher number of convicts getting tested and treatment for the coronavirus and other contagious illnesses.
As for Kentucky prisons and correctional facilities, overcrowding is a dangerous issue. According to K105.com, roughly 24,000 people are behind bars, and 48,000 are on probation. What is the cause of this? WKYT News reports that two of the causes behind this are underfunding and underpaying staff, as well as the drug epidemic. As of now, and according to a report made by the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, lawmakers have been urged to develop a plan to completely phase out the use of local jails for people in state custody, in partnership with local governments and the Department of Corrections. Not only that, but decriminalizing drug possession and implementing policies to release people prior to their trials has been cited by the report contribute to this growing problem’s solution.
