Even in a pandemic, JDI isn’t going to stop fighting for prisoners

A statement from JDI Executive Director Lovisa Stannow on the coronavirus pandemic

April 3, 2020

JDI is demanding the release of people in detention — and fighting to keep them safe while they are locked up. 

Right now, with Covid-19 spreading rapidly, people living in detention facilities are terrified. And here’s the truly scary part: the worst is yet to come. There is no social distancing in prisons, jails, and immigration detention facilities; hand sanitizer is forbidden; and a huge proportion of detainees have underlying health issues that make them vulnerable to deadly complications from the virus. Yet corrections health care systems are even less equipped than those in the community to deal with an explosion in sick people — an explosion that has already begun, at Rikers Island in New York, and elsewhere.

Many prisons, jails, and immigration detention facilities are now adopting compassionate release programs and accelerated parole. This is a good start — but it’s not nearly enough. Among those who should be considered for release are the elderly; people who are serving time for parole violations; people who are being held because they can’t pay bail; people who have an underlying heath condition; and so on. All options should be on the table. We must decrease the prison population dramatically, right now.

And yet, putting thousands of people on the street, many of whom are poor and have nowhere to go, will merely shift this crisis elsewhere. Cities are experimenting with expanding temporary, emergency housing for homeless people. Such housing should also be made available to people who are newly released. Equally important, cops, prosecutors, and judges must recognize the extreme risk of placing more people in custody during a pandemic. During this pandemic, no person should be arrested and sentenced to serve time, unless they pose a threat to their community. And there’s simply no valid reason for ICE to conduct sweeps right now, nor for the government to detain a single migrant child in a shelter if they can be reunited with their families.

These are bold steps, and it will take courage from public officials to carry them out. But if there was ever a time to rethink our approach to criminal justice, it is now.

In the meantime, people who are locked up and unlikely to be let out anytime soon must be kept safe and get the help that they need. We remain in touch with incarcerated sexual abuse survivors every day, through our telephone hotline and letters. They share with us that they are desperate for support, and that vital programs are being shut down left and right. With all family visits cancelled, they are desperate to connect with their loved ones. But even mail service — a lifeline for people who are locked up — is crawling to a halt. Phone and email providers for inmates are offering some minimal amounts of free services, but far less than they should.

Scarier still, the pandemic is creating conditions in which prisoner rape can thrive. Reporting sexual abuse is never easy to do, but it is next to impossible if you can’t write a letter, or speak to someone you trust on the outside. Corrections officials are also falling sick, leading to staff shortages that are dangerous for prisoners and staff alike. And the lack of basic items such as soap — itself an affront to a person’s dignity — leads to a scarcity that abusers can leverage.

If I seem worried right now, it’s because I am. JDI is a health and human rights organization for people in detention — people whose health and human rights are being threatened as never before.

But I also see reasons to feel hopeful. Our staff, who are working remotely, continue to do their lifesaving work every day. They field hotline calls from prisoners, write letters to survivors about their rights, and train advocates on what they can do to help people detained in their area.

We can only do this work because of you, our courageous supporters. Even in a pandemic, JDI isn’t going to stop fighting for prisoners — and we know you won’t, either.