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2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 891-891
Author(s):  
Claire Morton ◽  
Rachel Nathan ◽  
Anjana Chacko ◽  
Raya Kheirbek

Abstract In 2016, a total of 4,117 state and federal prisoners died in publicly or privately operated prisons. Each year from 2001 to 2016, an average of 88% of deaths in state prisons were due to natural causes, with more than half of those due to cancer, heart disease or liver disease, conditions for which non-incarcerated citizens often benefit from palliative care and hospice. Prisoners age 55 and older are the fastest-growing segment of the population residing in prisons, as well as those with the highest mortality rate. Compassionate release of seriously ill prisoners became a matter of federal statute in 1984 and has currently been adopted by the majority of U.S. prison jurisdictions. The spirit of the mandate is based on the idea that catastrophic health conditions ie terminal illness affect the four principles of incarceration: retribution, rehabilitation, deterrence, and incapacitation. Concerned about an aging prison population, overcrowded facilities, and soaring costs, many policy makers are calling for a wider use of compassionate release for persons with terminal illness as well as broader prison reform. The prognosticating criteria of compassionate release guidelines are clinically flawed, and the application and procedural barriers are prohibitive. In this paper we review cases of patients who qualified for compassionate release but had their applications denied. We will discuss the urgent need for access to quality palliative medicine for incarcerated persons with advanced illness and call healthcare providers to action with the aim of reducing suffering and promoting social justice for those in need.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lea Prince ◽  
Elizabeth Long ◽  
David Studdert ◽  
David Leidner ◽  
Elizabeth T Chin ◽  
...  

Background Prisons are high–risk environments for Covid–19. Vaccination levels among prison staff remain troublingly low – lower than levels among residents and members of the surrounding community. The situation is troubling because prison staff are a key vector for Covid–19 transmission. Objective To assess patterns and timing of staff vaccination in California state prisons and identify individual– and community–level factors associated with being unvaccinated. Design We calculated fractions of prison staff and incarcerated residents in California state prisons who remained unvaccinated. Adjusted analyses identified demographic, community, and peer factors associated with vaccination uptake among staff. Setting California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation prisons. Participants Custody and healthcare staff who worked in direct contact with residents. Main Outcomes and Measures Remaining unvaccinated through June 30, 2021. Results A total of 26 percent of custody staff and 52 percent of healthcare staff took ≥ 1 dose in the first two months of vaccine offer; uptake stagnated thereafter. By June 30, 2021, 61 percent of custody and 37 percent of healthcare staff remained unvaccinated. Remaining unvaccinated was positively associated with younger age, prior Covid–19, residing in a community with relatively low vaccination rates, and sharing shifts with co–workers who had relatively low vaccination rates. Conclusions and Relevance Vaccine uptake among prison staff in California in regular contact with incarcerated residents has plateaued at levels that pose ongoing risks – both of further outbreaks in the prisons and transmission into surrounding communities. Staff decisions to forego vaccination appear to be complex and multifactorial. Achieving safe levels of vaccine protection among frontline staff may necessitate requiring vaccination as condition of employment.


JAMA ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neal Marquez ◽  
Julie A. Ward ◽  
Kalind Parish ◽  
Brendan Saloner ◽  
Sharon Dolovich

2021 ◽  
pp. 63-67
Author(s):  
Olivia Pfeiffer ◽  
Shibu Antony ◽  
Grégoire Jacquot ◽  
Amy Huynh ◽  
Ekaterina Kostioukhina ◽  
...  

During the global COVID-19 pandemic, prisons have been the center of numerous outbreaks. Current efforts in virus containment have largely failed, due to a lack of standardized guidelines and reporting of key data regarding testing, cases, and deaths within state prisons. This article addresses challenges associated with pandemic management in prisons and policy options to reduce risk to inmates, prison staff, and the communities surrounding prisons. A comprehensive framework for evaluating a state prison’s virus management can facilitate improved responses, in particular amongst the rise of more virulent strains and ongoing cases. Such a framework may also serve as guidance in other situations of a similar nature.


Author(s):  
Elizabeth T. Chin ◽  
David Leidner ◽  
Yifan Zhang ◽  
Elizabeth Long ◽  
Lea Prince ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTBackgroundPrisons and jails are high-risk settings for COVID-19 transmission, morbidity, and mortality. COVID-19 vaccines may substantially reduce these risks, but evidence is needed of their effectiveness for incarcerated people, who are confined in large, risky congregate settings.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective cohort study to estimate effectiveness of mRNA vaccines, BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) and mRNA-1273 (Moderna), against confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections among incarcerated people in California prisons from December 22, 2020 through March 1, 2021. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation provided daily data for all prison residents including demographic, clinical, and carceral characteristics, as well as COVID-19 testing, vaccination status, and outcomes. We estimated vaccine effectiveness using multivariable Cox models with time-varying covariates that adjusted for resident characteristics and infection rates across prisons.FindingsAmong 60,707 residents in the cohort, 49% received at least one BNT162b2 or mRNA-1273 dose during the study period. Estimated vaccine effectiveness was 74% (95% confidence interval [CI], 64−82%) from day 14 after first dose until receipt of second dose and 97% (95% CI, 88−99%) from day 14 after second dose. Effectiveness was similar among the subset of residents who were medically vulnerable (74% [95% CI, 62−82%] and 92% [95% CI, 74−98%] from 14 days after first and second doses, respectively), as well as among the subset of residents who received the mRNA-1273 vaccine (71% [95% CI, 58−80%] and 96% [95% CI, 67−99%]).ConclusionsConsistent with results from randomized trials and observational studies in other populations, mRNA vaccines were highly effective in preventing SARS-CoV-2 infections among incarcerated people. Prioritizing incarcerated people for vaccination, redoubling efforts to boost vaccination and continuing other ongoing mitigation practices are essential in preventing COVID-19 in this disproportionately affected population.FundingHorowitz Family Foundation, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Science Foundation, Open Society Foundation, Advanced Micro Devices.


2021 ◽  
pp. 009385482110333
Author(s):  
Shelby S. Weaver ◽  
Monika Dargis ◽  
Kent A. Kiehl ◽  
Michael Koenigs

Although it is well established that individuals with psychopathic traits are a high-risk group for criminal recidivism, there is considerable evidence that psychopathy is a heterogeneous personality disorder comprised of two subtypes who differ on levels of negative affect (NA). However, few studies have examined differences in criminal histories, and fewer still have investigated differences in recidivism among subtypes of psychopathy. The current study compared criminal histories and recidivism rates between psychopathy subtypes differing in NA (high-NA vs. low-NA) within a sample of adult males incarcerated in state prisons. The high-NA and low-NA psychopathy subtypes did not differ on histories of total, nonviolent, or violent crime, and did not differ on rates of total, nonviolent, or violent recidivism. This finding highlights equally high levels of criminal risk associated with both subtypes of psychopathic individuals. Intervention strategies should be prioritized for both subgroups to effectively reduce the criminal costs associated with psychopathy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dallas Augustine ◽  
Melissa Barragan ◽  
Kelsie Chesnut ◽  
Natalie A. Pifer ◽  
Keramet Reiter ◽  
...  

Abstract Background In light of mounting evidence of the physical and psychological harms associated with solitary confinement, many correctional systems, state legislators, courts, and even international human rights bodies are increasingly recommending and implementing reforms to mitigate the harms of solitary confinement, if not abolish the practice entirely. In this piece, we examine three specific infrastructural changes to solitary confinement conditions and practices implemented in Washington state prisons with such harm minimization goals in mind: (1) building so-called “nature imagery rooms” to play videos of outdoor spaces, (2) eliminating punishments for self-harm, and (3) conducting daily cell-front wellness checks. Results Drawing on 183 in-depth qualitative interviews with both staff working in and people imprisoned in solitary confinement units conducted in Washington state restrictive housing units in 2017, we find that these three reforms not only resulted in limited successes but also generated new conflicts. Institutional logics such as deprivation, risk-management, and responsibilization ultimately impeded even the most modest attempts to mitigate the inherently harsh practice of solitary confinement. The limits of these reforms are due in part to individual choices made by people imprisoned in solitary confinement and staff working in these units, as well as the larger cultural norms that shape life in restrictive housing units. Conclusions Incrementalist reforms aimed at softening the environment of solitary confinement may actually serve to increase the strain and stress experienced by people confined to and working within them. Even the most well-intentioned reforms, like those attempted by the Washington DOC, should be scrutinized in order to determine if they are producing the desired outcomes, or instead, reproducing a different, but nonetheless damaging set of harms to people imprisoned in solitary confinement. Further, even well-intentioned reforms are often stymied by the underlying institutional logics of restrictive housing spaces.


Author(s):  
Kanisha D. Bond ◽  
Courtenay R. Conrad ◽  
Dylan Moses ◽  
Joel W. Simmons

Abstract Can data on government coercion and violence be trusted when the data are generated by state itself? In this paper, we investigate the extent to which data from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) regarding the use of force by corrections officers against prison inmates between 2008 and 2017 conform to Benford's Law. Following a growing data forensics literature, we expect misreporting of the use-of-force in California state prisons to cause the observed data to deviate from Benford's distribution. Statistical hypothesis tests and further investigation of CDCR data—which show both temporal and cross-sectional variance in conformity with Benford's Law—are consistent with misreporting of the use-of-force by the CDCR. Our results suggest that data on government coercion generated by the state should be inspected carefully before being used to test hypotheses or make policy.


2021 ◽  
pp. e1-e8
Author(s):  
Kaitlyn M. Sims ◽  
Jeremy Foltz ◽  
Elisabeth Skidmore

Objectives. To empirically evaluate the relationship between presence of a state or federal prison and COVID-19 case and death counts. Methods. We merged data on locations of federal and state prisons and of local and county jails with daily case and death counts in the United States. We used a selection-on-observables design to estimate the correlation between prisons and COVID-19 spread, controlling for known correlates of COVID-19. Results. We found empirical evidence that the presence and capacities of prisons are strong correlates of county-level COVID-19 case counts. The presence of a state or federal prison in a county corresponded with a 9% increase in the COVID-19 case count during the first wave of the pandemic, ending July 1, 2020. Conclusions. Our results suggest that the public health implications of these facilities extend beyond the health of employees and incarcerated individuals, and policymakers should explicitly consider the public health concerns posed by these facilities when developing pandemic-response policy. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print July 14, 2021: e1–e8. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306352 )


2021 ◽  
pp. 93-106
Author(s):  
Byron R. Johnson ◽  
Michael Hallett ◽  
Sung Joon Jang

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