Advocates warn of ‘dire’ consequences, call for release of KS inmates due to COVID-19
Kansas advocates are urging Gov. Laura Kelly and the Department of Corrections to release inmates, especially those at high risk for COVID-19 complications.
After the Department of Corrections announced Tuesday that three staff members at the Lansing Correctional Facility had tested positive for the virus, one advocate says the state “should have acted by now.”
At a news conference Wednesday, Kelly said her office is “at the exploratory phase” in determining whether to take action regarding prisons.
The Department of Corrections currently has no plans to release prisoners ahead of scheduled release dates and is in an exploratory phase, spokeswoman Rebecca Witte said in an email to The Star.
The department has already taken actions to reduce the impact of the new coronavirus, Witte said. Those actions include closing facilities to visitors, limiting transfer between facilities, and screening processes.
Beginning Friday, she said, the office will isolate inmates upon intake at the Larned Correctional Mental Health Facility.
The letter, sent Tuesday and signed by representatives of the Kansas Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Kansas Board of Indigents Defense Services, the District of Kansas Federal Public Defenders office and the Midwest Innocence Project, gives a list of nine recommendations for the state to protect the health of those in prisons.
It follows a similar letter recently sent to Missouri officials.
The recommendations for Kansas include the release of medically fragile and older adults at high risk for COVID-19 complications, the release of anyone with six months or fewer left on their sentences and the release of anyone imprisoned for technical violations of probation or parole.
This release, the letter said, would make social distancing easier for those remaining in the jail. Additionally, it would protect the estimated 39-43% of inmates who have underlying health conditions.
The letter also asks the state to create a protocol for inmate release, stop transferring inmates from county jails to prisons and provide opportunities for those who remain in the jail to abide by best practices for hygiene and social distancing.
“The best defense against COVID-19 is to avoid catching it in the first place. And for this reason the most consistent recommendations from KDHE, CDC, and WHO have been to practice good hygiene and physically distance from others as much as possible — both of which are nearly impossible to do effectively and consistently in most jails and correctional facilities,” the letter said, warning that failure to act would result in “dire” consequences.
The letter and recommendations, said Kansas Association for Criminal Defense Lawyers Legislative Chair Jennifer Roth, were formed based on practices and recommendations made in prisons across the country.
“It’s been striking to think about the comparisons between nursing homes where we’ve seen outbreaks, cruise ships where we’ve seen outbreaks and prisons where we’ve seen outbreaks,” Roth said.
Inmates in overcrowded prisons have even less personal space than those in nursing homes and on cruise ships, Roth said. Furthermore, she said, air circulation within the prison can reduce the effect of isolating those possibly exposed.
The letter referenced the rate of infection at Rikers Island Jail in New York City. The jail’s chief physician posted Monday on Twitter that, although health precautions were being taken, the infections continued to grow necessitating the release of “as many vulnerable people as possible.”
In a letter sent to families of inmates Wednesday, the Kansas Department of Corrections addressed the news that three staff members at the Lansing Correctional Facility tested positive for COVID-19. Despite this, the letter said, there are no known positive cases of the virus among the jail’s inmates.
Residents who came in contact with the workers were placed in medical isolation, the letter said.
“We want you to know that we care for your loved ones and will do everything we can to keep them safe and healthy while they are in our care,” the letter said.
The measures being taken, Roth said, are not enough.
“I’m sure the Department of Corrections and the governor are trying really hard, you can see it,” Roth said. “But you have got to have fewer people.”
This story was originally published April 2, 2020 at 3:52 PM with the headline "Advocates warn of ‘dire’ consequences, call for release of KS inmates due to COVID-19."
