IN THE NEWS THIS WEEK

April 4, 2020

‘As Coronavirus Surges, Crime Declines in Some Cities’
THE MARSHALL PROJECT
Street cops and police union officials have been predicting a crime wave as cities across the country reduce low-level arrests and release inmates from jails to slow the spread of COVID-19.

‘Q&A: Two Oregon Prison Inmates on Facing COVID-19 Behind Bars’
THE PORTLAND MERCURY
To understand how ODOC's preventative measures are perceived by those stuck in a state prison, the Mercury spoke with two inmates currently incarcerated in Columbia River Correctional Institution (CRCI), a minimum security prison located in North Portland.

‘Don’t Criminalize COVID-19’
SLATE
The ignominious history of HIV criminalization shows why punishing people who spread the coronavirus is a terrible idea.

‘Can’t We at Least Give Prisoners Soap?’
THE ATLANTIC
As coronavirus fears spread among incarcerated people and those advocating on their behalf, I’ve heard again and again about soap.

’Women in ICE Detention, Fearing Coronavirus, Make Video To Protest Unsafe Conditions’
THE INTERCEPT_
Women locked in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Louisiana are terrified that they have been exposed to a person ill with the coronavirus. The women have been trying to communicate with the world about their plight, and they’ve been punished for trying.

‘Coronavirus spread at Rikers Island is a ‘public health disaster’’
THE GUARDIAN
The top doctor at Rikers Island said the coronavirus-hit New York jail is a “public health disaster unfolding before our eyes” as he warned of the rapidly rising number of infections in the city’s jails.

“The Officers Were Taking Our Toilet Paper”: One Woman’s Life in
Prison Right Now
MOTHER JONES
Social distancing, hoarding, and financial uncertainty affect prisoners too.

Articles From Issue One