Thank You for Calling Your Governor to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19 in Jails and Prisons
Detainees in Module I at the Theo Lacy Facility in Orange, California, on Tuesday, March 14, 2017 (Photo by Jeff Gritchen/Digital First Media/Orange County Register via Getty Images)
In March, we asked you to call on your governors to act immediately to protect the lives of people who are currently incarcerated in prisons, jails and detention facilities across the country. Nearly 1200 of you stepped up and called on your lawmakers to do the right thing. The Innocence Project signed on to a letter issued by a coalition of organizations calling on governors to act immediately to help protect people in prisons and jails and the larger community.
More details about what we asked for are included below:
- Prioritize the immediate release of the elderly and medically vulnerable, including individuals who are pregnant or who have asthma, chronic illness, lung disease, or heart disease.
- Release anyone who is within 18 months of his/her release date.
- Urge a hold to all new state prison sentences for anyone who is currently not detained.
- Release all people held on probation and parole technical violation detainers or sentences. Ensure no new jail or prison sentences based on technical violations.
- Ensure that all people released from prison have a transition plan that includes seamless access to medical care and health-related services.
- Ask parole boards to release all individuals who are currently on parole and develop an emergency process that can expedite parole hearings.
- Create a framework that facilitates the expedient release of as many incarcerated individuals as possible.