The Columbus Dispatch: Marion prison becomes nation's leading coronavirus hotspot as advocates demand action
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The best way to stop the spread of the disease inside the prison is to release more non-violent offenders, said Holly Harris, executive director of the Justice Action Network, a bipartisan group that advocates for criminal justice reform.
Gov. Mike DeWine needs to “work faster and do more. Identify more incarcerated people who are not a public safety threat who can go to home confinement or be furloughed or whatever the mechanism you can use, use it to get these people out of these death chambers,” Harris said.
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Smith did not respond to questions about sending Marion employees back to work three days after being symptom-clear. The Centers For Disease Control has issued guidelines that allow prison workers, health-care personnel and others to return to work after being symptom-free for 72 hours.
That timeline, though, is too fast, according to Harris, who advocates at the federal and state level for the nation’s estimated 2.3 million prisoners.
“I am deeply concerned about sending people back to work that quickly, especially when you are in a hotspot like a prison which we now know is at greater risk than a nursing home or a cruise ship. It is the No. 1 hotspot in the country for the spread of the disease,” Harris said.