The Human Rights Coalition has forwarded the following Senate
of Pennsylvania Session of 2021-2022 Regular Session Memorandum promulgated by
Pennsylvania Senators The Honorable Anthony H. Williams, The Honorable Sharif
Street, and The Honorable Nikil Saval. Senators
Williams, Street, and Saval are
proposing legislation that resolves the contagious and deadly COVID-19 Prison
Pandemic by providing “automatic eligibility” . Citizens throughout the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania are being asked by the Human Rights Coalition to (A)
contact their State Senator (https:.//www.legis.state.pa.us/) and impress upon
them the need to co-sponsor this life saving legislation (B) share the information
with others in their network; (C) follow-up with State Senators to ascertain if they have signed on as co-sponsors for this legislation;
and (D) ask souls in their networks to contact their State Senators and ask them
to co-sponsor the legislation and follow up with them to determine if they have
done so.
SENATE OF PENNSYLVANIA SESSION OF
2021 - 2022 REGULAR SESSION MEMORANDUM
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Posted: |
January
28, 2021 02:09 PM |
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From: |
Senator
Anthony H. Williams and Senator Sharif Street, Senator Nikil Saval |
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To: |
All
Senate members |
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Subject: |
Expanded
Eligibility for Medical and Elderly Release to Mitigate COVID-19 in PA’s
Prisons |
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In the
near future, we will be introducing legislation to expand eligibility and
improve the process for reprieve of prison sentences for the elderly and
infirm during the COVID-19 pandemic. From the beginning of the crisis, and
especially since November 2020, the rate of COVID-19 infections has increased
dramatically at our state correctional institutions. To date, over 9,200
incarcerated people and 4,065 institutional staff have tested
positive for COVID-19. This, in turn, has resulted in 97 deaths for
those confined within the prison and sparked possibilities of community
spread with prison staff. 20 percent of those deaths have taken place in the
first two weeks of 2021, and incarcerated people are dying at a rate three
times higher than Pennsylvania at large. Incarcerated
people are among the most marginalized members of our society. They are
considered undeserving of basic rights and are often marked throughout their
lives -- no matter how good their conduct in prison -- as “criminals.” The
COVID-19 pandemic only deepens this marginalization. At a time when
hygiene and physical space are public health imperatives, the tight quarters
in Pennsylvania’s prisons make social distancing virtually impossible. Trying
to overcome these constraints, the Department of Corrections has placed
infected individuals in solitary confinement—a punitive measure for people
that have done nothing wrong other than being exposed to the virus.
Similarly, the dozens of incarcerated people that have died from the virus
received a form of capital punishment, to which no judge sentenced them, and
for crimes they did not commit. The
Pennsylvania legislature can stop this. In April, Governor Wolf and Secretary
of Corrections John Wetzel announced a targeted reprieve effort to protect
the lives of inmates who are particularly vulnerable to the coronavirus given
their advanced age or health conditions. Our bill builds on the Governor’s
Executive Order to create a streamlined process for identifying and releasing
inmates who are not a danger to community safety. It establishes
automatic eligibility for all inmates over the age of 65 or
with comorbidities which make them especially vulnerable to
coronavirus. It then allows those eligible to return home where they can
properly protect themselves from COVID-19. Time is
of the essence and the unprecedented deadliness of the virus demands swift,
decisive actions. As COVID-19 cases rise throughout the country, it is our
responsibility to make sure the most vulnerable people have the means to
protect themselves, and by extension, others. This includes both prisoners
and correctional staff. Please join us in co-sponsoring this very important
legislation. |
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