Prisoners all over the world are struggling to protect themselves where their jailers won’t. zakcheneyrice writes
La Modelo prison in Bogotá, Colombia. Photo: Daniel Munoz/AFP via Getty Images By many estimates, the United States is still weeks away from seeing the worst of the novel coronavirus. The illness’s rapid spread, along with expanded testing, are producing higher and more comprehensive infection counts, which currently outpace the rate increases seen in other hard-hit countries like Italy, Spain, and Iran. The death toll is climbing as hospitals become overwhelmed.
A similar panic is being felt among the world’s incarcerated populations — only they have fewer options for protecting themselves. People in jails and prisons are especially vulnerable to the pandemic’s ravages.
The result has been a global surge in dissent. Two weeks ago, nearly 1,000 prisoners escaped detention in the Brazilian state of São Paolo after authorities canceled furloughs and visits in an effort to stop the coronavirus from spreading. Rather than live under lockdown in de facto petri dishes, many decided their best option was to bolt; facilities that saw breakouts included prisons in Tremembé, Porto Feliz, Mirandópolis, and Mongaguá, according to the Guardian.
Since last week in France, more than two dozen prisoners have refused to return to their crowded cells after courtyard walks, citing coronavirus concerns. More coordinated actions are happening in the U.S. According to ProPublica, ICE detainees being held at the Hudson County Correctional Facility in New Jersey have gone on hunger strike, demanding access to soap and toilet paper.
Taken together, these actions vivify the terror and desperation being felt by prisoners — not just in the U.S. but worldwide. A mix of fanatical punitiveness and a callous disregard toward how much incarcerated people suffer under routine circumstances, to say nothing of during a pandemic, has made America’s jails and prisons into habitats of sustained torture. And they’re rivaled by conditions elsewhere.
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