Time is running out to prevent even more fatalities

Tell Congress to release people in prison at-risk of COVID-19

Patrick Jones and Nicholas Rodriguez were among the hundreds of thousands of people behind bars for drug offenses. Now they have become some of the first people in federal prison to tragically die of COVID-19.

Time is running out to prevent even more fatalities. The Emergency Community Supervision Act would help reduce dangerous overcrowding in federal prisons by transferring into community supervision individuals who are medically vulnerable, people over 50 years of age, and people within 12 months of release from incarceration from federal custody.

Tell Congress to support this critical bill and immediately release people in federal prison who are at-risk of COVID-19.

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Your Message

Subject

Dear Member of Congress,

Message Body

As your constituent, I urge you to save lives by supporting the Emergency Community Supervision Act (S. 3579 / H.R. 6400), which would help reduce dangerous overcrowding in federal prisons by immediately releasing into community supervision individuals in federal custody vulnerable to COVID-19 – those who are pregnant, those with underlying health issues, and those who are age 50 or older.  It would also authorize the release of individuals within 12 months of completing their sentence into community supervision.

People in federal custody have already died including Patrick Jones and Nicholas Rodriguez, the first two individuals to die in federal custody, both of whom were behind bars for drug offenses in Louisiana. And for the thousands of other people behind bars, contracting COVID-19 is tantamount to a death sentence. Those in prison and jail tend to have much higher rates of underlying health issues than the general public, and the conditions of confinement make social distancing impossible. Moreover, jail and prison facilities are unprepared to deal with mass casualty events and typically fail to provide adequate health care to people in custody on an ordinary day. We have an obligation to do everything we can to prevent the spread of this deadly disease, and that means moving certain people who are incarcerated to community supervision. This includes releasing individuals who are facing high risk of serious illness or death from COVID-19, like Mr. Jones and Mr. Rodriguez, both of whom had underlying health issues that made them especially susceptible to COVID-19.

Research demonstrates how dangerous coronavirus is for the elderly and those with underlying conditions or compromised immune systems. Unfortunately, many incarcerated individuals fall within those high risk categories. In the midst of this pandemic, we must take reasonable steps to prevent potential exposure to coronavirus by reducing the incarcerated population wherever possible. This bill would help reduce dangerous prison overcrowding and improve our ability to provide immediate and humane treatment to some of our most vulnerable.

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, we must do everything in our power to ensure the safety, health and well-being of incarcerated people, corrections staff, and communities surrounding corrections facilities. Under the Emergency Community Supervision Act, the following individuals behind bars would be eligible for immediate placement in community supervision:

-Pregnant individuals (seven percent of women in federal prison are pregnant)
-Individuals with diabetes
-Individuals with congestive heart failure or coronary artery disease
-Individuals with chronic lung disease or asthma
-Individuals with other immune system deficiencies, such as HIV, sickle cell anemia, or cancer
-Individuals who are 50 years of age or older (approx. 33,000 individuals behind bars are age 50 or older; approx. 26,000 are age 50 or older and are nonviolent offenders)
-Individuals who have 12 months or less to serve on their sentence

The bill also would limit the use of pre-trial detention unless the person is proven to be a flight risk or violent threat. And it would limit the use of in-person supervised release where appropriate, as well as the use of incarceration for technical violations for supervised release violations, two common-sense strategies that would reduce the likelihood of individuals contracting COVID-19.  The law would expire 60 days following the end date of the current national emergency.

Time is running out to prevent even more fatalities. Please support the Emergency Community Supervision Act to immediately release people in federal prison who are at-risk of COVID-19.

Sincerely,

[First Name] [Last Name]
[Your Address]

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