More than 65 civil and human rights organization have banded together to urge the Federal Bureau of Prisons to share daily details regarding race, age, ethnicity and more of the inmates who have been infected or have died of COVID-19.
The bureau currently shares reports that detail the number of staff and those incarcerated that are affected by COVID-19. The agency also indicates how many federal facilities and residential reentry centers (RRCs) have been impacted. Still, ACLU, NAACP, African American Ministers In Action and dozens of other organizations are imploring the bureau to provide more details on how the prison community has been affected by the novel, ravaging disease.
“Without demographic information, however, these numbers do not present an accurate picture of the COVID-19 impact on federal prisons,” reads the letter on behalf of the organizations. “Furthermore, we understand that BOP’s reporting is an undercount given the varied and insufficient testing protocols throughout facilities.BOP has acknowledged that its current reporting will merely provide “insight.” Therefore, BOP should flesh out this data with information on age, race, ethnicity, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, and disability.”
As of April 20, BOP reported that 497 incarcerated persons and 319 staff tested positive for COVID-19, according to the letter. Twenty-two incarcerated persons have died from the virus. About 40 percent of BOP prisons are impacted, with 45 of 122 facilities indicating COVID-19 cases.
Seventy percent of the federal prison population is either black or Latinx, so the civil rights organizations say they are “concerned that people of color will bear the brunt of COVID-19 outbreaks in federal facilities.”
“With recent reports indicating that COVID-19 is disproportionately impacting Black people, elected officials have called for health agencies to collect and report demographic data on COVID-19,” the letter reads. “We are asking BOP to do the same. BOP should also provide data on home confinement and compassionate release, along with demographic information, in this accounting. “
Recently, as many as 200 inmates at a Washington state prison staged an uprising after officials announced six prisoners had tested positive for the coronavirus, according to news reports, citing the Washington Department of Corrections.
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Spikes in COVID-19 cases and other reports of melee have been announced in states like Georgia and Kansas. Advocates have called for prisoners with non-violent charges to be released to lessen the impact of the virus and uphold the social distancing rules across the country.
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