Wisconsin has received an F+ grade from the American Civil Liberties Union for its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in prisons, the group said in a report released Thursday.
“The report analyzed all states’ responses to the pandemic in jails and prisons.
Nine states received D grades. The rest, except for Illinois, which was not graded because of pending litigation, received F grades,” Emily Hamer reports for the Wisconsin State Journal.
The report comes despite criminal justice reform advocates’ calls for Gov. Tony Evers to cut populations at overcrowded prisons to protect vulnerable inmates.
But as Wisconsin Watch reported in May, Evers refuses to wield his power to release inmates despite campaigning on a promise to cut prison populations by 50%. Inmates say overcrowding leaves them regularly too close to their peers and staff at a time when experts call distance a top tool for slowing the spread of COVID-19.
Wisconsin receives an F+ grade for handling of COVID-19 in prisons — Wisconsin State Journal
https://www.wisconsinwatch.org/2020/06/wisconsin-covid-19-update-6-26-20/