Jail reform advocates want more PPE, vaccines for prisoners and staff

FOX 2 - It’s a push for change in Michigan’s correctional facilities 

"The story of COVID-19 in Michigan jails it will be told as a cautionary tale as a failure of leadership," said  Patrick Gallagher, Michigan United.

Criminal Justice reform advocates from across the state gathered to lay out an agenda before a Wednesday Town Hall discussion on how to solve what they call a crisis. 

"Criminal justice agencies were, and to some extent, still not prepared for large-scale public crises like the coronavirus pandemic,"  said Khalil Cumberbatch, Council on Criminal Justice.

The advocates argue the state's failure to protect people in their custody from this deadly virus has to be examined.

"The physical makeup of prisons makes it impossible to socially distance," said Tony Gant, who was formerly incarcerated.

"We need some big changes now and fast," Gallagher said. "We need a real push to de-incarcerate people who could have been released all along."

Keith Hudson, a former Wayne County Jail inmate, said he took his concerns to Governor Gretchen Whitmer. 

"I’ve been writing you every day for 14 months," said Hudson. "And still have not received any helpful correspondence. You vowed to take care of all Michiganders, so do you view prisoners as citizens of Michigan and if so, why haven’t you taken time out of your busy schedule to address this crisis?"

"People in prisons and jails have largely been 'othered' and by that I mean, other than human," Gant said.

These advocates are making their voices heard to call on change and offer recommendations.

"To prioritize those incarcerated and those working in the system to early vaccine and PPE," Cumberbatch said.

Fox 2 reached out to the Governor’s Office  and Michigan Department of Corrections and they say in part:

"Many of these early measures were implemented by MDOC’s Director, in consultation with her medical team, well before there was clear guidance from the CDC and other public health organizations on several of these topics."

State officials go on to say, "Every prisoner who is eligible for parole has been reviewed by the parole board, and those who could be released without being a threat to public safety, were."

"We’re still able to write the final chapters of this before miring ourselves in tragedy," Gallagher said.