Jordan Covid Q2
The state government is uniquely positioned to to take rapid and decisive action to flatten the curve and stop the spread. In particular, people in prisons and jails are particularly susceptible to getting sick because of crowded and constrained conditions inside and limited medical care. And many face vulnerabilities when released because there is not enough critical re-entry assistance available and because of nonsensical rules making them ineligible for help. We must increase the testing and release of people in prison, with reentry plans that include health access and shelter, especially for the elderly, sick, people who pose no risk and people with limited time remaining on their sentence and who will be released soon anyway. We must authorize and expand non-incarceration options for people entering jail for low level crime, people being held pre-trial and in cases that do not involve a safety risk. We must also prevent people on probation and parole from being needlessly incarcerated and increasing their risk of exposure to the virus by terminating probation or parole supervision for people that have been compliant and are a low risk to recidivate. We also need to stop the practice of returning people to jail and prison for technical violations. It’s also important that we shift from in person supervision to remote reporting.
