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California to release up to 8,000 more inmates to prevent COVID-19 spread in prisons

As many as 8,000 inmates will be released from prisons across California by the end of next month, the state’s corrections department announced Thursday.

The early releases are in an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in the crowded prison facilities, where the virus has infected hundreds of inmates and staff members over the last few months.

At San Quentin State Prison alone, nearly 1,400 coronavirus cases have been reported since May. The infections spread after 121 inmates were transferred to the prison from another facility in Chino, California, where the coronavirus was already “raging,” according to Bay Area-based outlet KGO-TV. An inmate at Chino’s California Institution for Men told the news channel that the virus “spread like wildfire” at the facility, in part because many inmates were asymptomatic. The inmate also said that mask wearing wasn’t enforced. Prior to the transfer of the incarcerated persons, San Quentin had zero reported coronavirus cases.

The statewide releases will be granted by the end of August to eligible inmates that meet the following criteria:

  • Have 180 days or less to serve on their sentence
  • Are not currently serving time for domestic violence or a violent crime as defined by law
  • Have no current or prior sentences that require them to register as a sex offender
  • Are not deemed as a high risk for violence

Incarcerated persons with high-risk health conditions who meet the above criteria and have less than one year left to serve of their sentences will also be considered for release at eight facilities across the state. Those facilities include San Quentin State Prison, Central California Women’s Facility, California Health Care Facility, California Institution for Men, California Institution for Women, California Medical Facility, Folsom State Prison and Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility.

Up to 4,800 inmates could be released by the end of July.

The move will make way for more space in prison facilities, allowing for more space to social distance amid the pandemic. It will also create more space for inmates to isolate and quarantine if they do get infected or think they may be infected.

All released individuals will be tested for COVID-19 within seven days of their release.

“These actions are taken to provide for the health and safety of the incarcerated population and staff,” Ralph Diaz, secretary for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, said in a press release. “We aim to implement these decompression measures in a way that aligns both public health and public safety.”

According to the California Department of Corrections, an additional 10,000 eligible inmates have been released from prisons since mid-March in efforts to combat the spread of COVID-19.

“We’re glad the governor is taking action to release more people. This is absolutely critical for the health and safety of every Californian,” said Jay Jordan, executive director of Californians for Safety and Justice. “Too many people are incarcerated for too long in facilities that spread poor health. Supporting the health and safety of all Californians means releasing people unnecessarily incarcerated and transforming our justice system.”

A one-time 12-week Positive Programming Credit will be awarded to incarcerated persons who meet certain criteria in response to facilities having to initiate limitations on many credit-earning programs.

The CDCR said the credit is “to help offset not only credits not earned due to program suspensions, but also to recognize the immense burden incarcerated people have shouldered through these unprecedented times.”

Inmates have also had limited use of phone calls and opportunities to move around prison facilities, and visitations were suspended, KPIX-TV reported.

About 108,000 inmates will receive the credit by Aug. 1, KPIX reported.

Those condemned to death, those serving life sentences without the possibility of parole and those with serious rule violations between March 1 and July 5 are not eligible for the credit.

Read more at KPIX-TV and on the official website for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.