Jail Sentences Are Becoming Death Sentences

NBC Channel 12 photo of a Virginia prison COVID unit.

One of my prisoner friends, age 73 and legally blind, was recently moved to Deerfield Correctional Center, which has had a record 19 deaths from COVID, the highest number of any Virginia prison. In spite of my friend's reputation as an exceptionally hard worker and his having been a model prisoner during 48 years of incarceration, he has been repeatedly denied the parole release that would have greatly reduced his danger of infection, 

As of this week, according to the latest Virginia Department of Corrections report, there were 593 active cases of COVID-19 among Virginia inmates and 227 among staff and employees. A total of over 5,200 positive inmate cases have been reported and more than 1,250 cases among workers, resulting in 35 deaths from the infection since March.

Another prisoner friend, age 52, after noting with concern the number of men being taken to the hospital after the outbreak of the coronavirus at Buckingham Correctional Center, was himself rushed to the Medical College of Virginia Hospital with COVID in early June, and remained in critical condition on a respirator in the ICU for weeks . He was finally returned to Buckingham after three months, but soon had to be taken to the Southhampton Memorial Hospital for ongoing care three days later, where he was in rehabilitation until a month ago. 

I have no idea how many hundreds of thousands of dollars his care has cost Virginie taxpayers, all of which could have been avoided had he been granted the parole release he was assured he would be able to earn when he was persuaded to accept an Alford Plea many decades ago. Meanwhile, he is suffering from a life-threatening case of pulmonary fibrosis as a result of COVID, a condition for which there is no known cure. He is also being denied getting his long held prison job back due to his condition.

Then last week I heard the following from a distressed 61-year-old inmate at Augusta Correctional Center, someone who already has a serious lung condition. "At the moment we have gone from three offenders in the Red Zone Covid-19 quarantine area in our gymnasium to 35 being sick with the virus. Each day since Monday there has been an increase in cases. Today, one of my co-workers in the laundry was isolated and found to be positive as well. He is having extreme breathing problems and they moved him from the infirmary to the Red Zone."  

This friend, in mortal danger of contracting coronavirus, has served over 40 years behind bars and is deserving of both geriatric and regular release, both of which have recently again been denied.  

My heart goes out to all of the men and women in our prisons and jails who live in constant fear of the kind of outbreak that could result in their unintended death sentence.

Here's a link to express your concerns to Governor Northam's office: 

https://www.governor.virginia.gov/constituent-services/communicating-with-the-governors-office/