By Kenyamarie Mahone (PO ’23)
On February 23rd 2021, Akquile Pollard, better known as Bobby Shmurda, was released from Clinton Correctional Facility. Pollard, a 26-year-old New York rapper who gained esteem for his hit single “Hot Boy,” was released after serving 6 years for criminal possession of a weapon and conspiracy to murder. In the years following Pollard’s arrest, fans and celebrities made #FreeShmurda and #FreeBobby a viral trend that reached every corner of the internet. The release of rappers like Bobby Shmurda and Tekashi 6ix9ine, who also received compassionate release after a judge determined that his asthma made him susceptible to COVID-19, or former Trump attorney Michael Cohen who was compassionately released due to COVID-19, are in stark contrast to the thousands of inmates who are struggling to receive protection from the virus. As the pandemic silently rages through America’s prisons and jails, now more than ever, judges and wardens are being forced to face the detrimental impacts of mass incarceration. The COVID-19 pandemic offers a unique consideration for inmates applying for compassionate release, a process through which judges may release inmates on parole early due to extraordinary circumstances. The extraordinary context of a pandemic provides an opportunity to imagine what a commitment to decarcerating America can look like. The viral nature of COVID-19 has forced our justice system to reckon with the consequences of keeping prisons and jails full. While the health and safety of inmates and correctional officers requires a commitment to decreasing prison populations, recent data shows that releasing inmates is a cause that few in power have been willing to undertake.
American Prisons as COVID-19 Hotspots
A recent report released by the Marshall Project, a non-profit organization centered on criminal justice reform, found that as of February 2021, “1 in 5 state and federal prisoners in the United States has tested positive for the Coronavirus.” This is compared to just 1 in 20 positive tests in the general population. As it stands, about 275,000 prisoners have contracted the virus and 1,700 have died; however, Homer Venter, Rikers Island former chief medical officer noted that the “number is a vast undercount.” Close quarters, shared living spaces and restrooms, lack of PPE like masks, and even basic necessities like soap and hand sanitizer have made safe social distancing practices within prisons nearly impossible. Even relatively healthy individuals like Donte Westmoreland who was recently released from Lansing Correctional Facility in Kansas described his time in prison as feeling like a “death sentence.” Westmoreland watched as men on his floor became sick, and even died from the virus. This experience is not limited to Lansing Correctional Facility. In Kansas almost 50% of inmates have contracted COVID-19, which is nearly eight times higher than Kansas state’s infection rate.
Nationwide, prisons have significantly higher infection rates than the communities around them. As vaccine rollout begins, the new challenge will be ensuring that incarcerated individuals are granted access to new medicines. The LA Times reported that, since vaccine rollout began on December 22nd 2020, over 37,000 inmates and 25,000 staff members have received the vaccine. While the vaccine rollout provides a glimmer of hope for incarcerated folks, it comes only after a year of messy and disorganized responses to the virus causing irreparable damage to thousands of inmates, staff, and their families. Inmates throughout the nation have reported the incompetency of corrections officers who frequently failed to acknowledge inmates experiencing symptoms and living in filthy conditions. While unsanitary conditions and high transmission rates endanger both inmates and correctional officers, many prisons have been hesitant to use tools to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. One tool that many jurisdictions failed to use early in the pandemic to limit viral spread was the compassionate release of inmates.
Despite COVID-19, Judges Refuse to Grant Inmates Parole
In an assessment of data gathered from 13 states, the Prison Policy Initiative found that prisons approved fewer parole requests in 2020 than in 2019, despite a pandemic that demanded a decrease in already overcrowded prison populations. Topping that list was the state of Alabama, which saw a 59% decrease in parole approval between 2019 and 2020. A similar report published by the Marshall Project highlights that nationally, between the months of March and May 2020, 98% of release requests were either denied or ignored. One warden in Elkton, OH, denied 866 of 867 release requests in a facility where nine inmates have died from COVID-19.
Marie Neba was one of many victims of prisons’ failures to adapt to COVID-19. Neba had been incarcerated for committing Medicare fraud after struggling to pay medical bills for her cancer treatment. Neba was one of 349 women in the North Texas medical prison who had applied for parole since the pandemic began. Of the 349 women, only 3 were granted parole. Neba, who had been battling Stage 4 cancer and feared that COVID-19 would effectively be a death sentence, hoped that a judge would approve her for early release. Despite state and federal guidelines permitting the early release of non-violent offenders who proved little risk to society and/or had pre-existing conditions, judges ruled that neither Neba’s terminal illness nor the 5 years she had already served were valid grounds for parole. COVID-19 soon spread through the prison, with over 500 inmates and correctional officers testing positive for the virus. Neba was one of them. The combination of incarceration, illness, and infection proved to be simply too much for Neba. Just one day before her lawyer filed a final request for judges to reconsider her for parole, Neba passed away.
Even in cases where inmates are eligible or approved for parole, bureaucratic requirements leave many trapped behind bars. Many correctional facilities offer parole, but only after completing courses in topics like education or drug/alcohol rehabilitation. While these programs are important, they can last as long as 12 months, meaning that even inmates who have been deemed eligible to return to society remain trapped in COVID-19 hotspots simply because they have not finished a course requirement. Despite evidence showing that these programs are just as effective if taken upon release, states remain reluctant to grant parole to inmates who have incomplete courses. In Tennessee alone, there are approximately 1,000 people who have been approved for parole, but remain incarcerated due to mandated programs. By releasing inmates who have been approved for parole but have not completed necessary programs, Tennessee could reduce its prison population by 4%. While this is just a fraction of the releases necessary to allow for adequate social distancing practices in prisons, it would represent an important step towards prioritizing the safety of inmates.
Systemic Inequities Complicate Inmate Releases
While the call for increased parole would allow for social distancing within prisons, barriers await inmates once they leave the carceral system. Systemic inequities in the justice system leave many without secure housing or finances upon release. Some prosecutors have used these concerns as a justification for denying inmates parole, claiming that they are “safer” behind bars. In July, the LA Times reported on community fears that releasing inmates may contribute to increased spread of COVID-19, especially in low-income communities of color.
Transitioning inmates out of prisons back into communities in normal circumstances is already a Herculean task. COVID-19 makes this already challenging task nearly impossible. Some prisons, like San Quentin in the San Francisco Bay Area, have devised unique solutions to tackling this problem. After a botched transfer of inmates from a Chino prison to San Quentin led to a deadly outbreak of the COVID-19 at the Bay Area prison, Governor Newsom ordered prisons to decrease their populations. Inmates from San Quentin were released to a commissioned hotel to isolate before returning to their homes or transitional housing services. While this process has potential for creating safer transitions into communities, quarantine protocols were rarely enforced leading to some released inmates testing positive post-release.
COVID-19 has exacerbated systemic inequities throughout all facets of American society. While rising food insecurity and increases in unemployment have brought larger national attention to issues facing everyday Americans, issues facing incarcerated Americans are rarely discussed. The need for social distancing in prisons has the potential to force our criminal justice system to imagine alternatives to incarceration. Unfortunately, as stories of people like Marie Neba illustrate, not even a pandemic that has killed almost 500,000 Americans is enough for the United States to part ways with its perverted obsession with detention and control as a response to crime. The release of public figures like Bobby Shmurda, Tekashi 6ix9ine, and Michael Cohen may make for good optics but are not representative of the criminal justice system as a whole. While many are quick to advocate for criminal justice reform when it affects the celebrities they enjoy, now more than ever, this energy must be mobilized to hold the justice system accountable to the health and well-being of all inmates.
