The Prison to Pandemic Pipeline

As members of the public are asked to stay home, and keep distant from others to help stop the spread of COVID-19, what about those in jail or in prison, where inmates are most often housed in close dormitory quarters, with limited access to hygiene products like hand sanitizer? An outbreak in a jail could prove fatal for aging inmates, and could threaten the health of communities outside, who could be infected by corrections officers or recently-released former inmates.

On Today's Show, we look at a notorious New York City jail on Riker's Island as a bellweather for how jails and prisons around the country will have to react to the current public health crisis. Almost forty cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed inside Rikers, a number that is expected to grow. Robert Cohen M.D., corrections health expert and member of the NYC Board of Correction, and Jose Saldana, director of the Release Aging People in Prison Campaign, discuss how to respond respond, including releasing inmates who are most vulnerable.

NOTE: Brian introduces Dr. Cohen as a commissioner of the New York City Board of Corrections, an oversight body independent from the Department of Corrections, which runs the city's jails. Dr. Cohen is a member of the Board of Corrections.