Prisoners

‌The first comprehensive data on prison fatalities in the Covid era sheds new light on where and why prisoners were especially vulnerable.

“If they didn’t have a mental health condition to start with, they certainly do by the end of that.” She said its prisons had provided “historic raises for security staff” in 2022 and more in 2023 and had since seen improvements in staffing. Campbell, a former coal miner who pleaded guilty to murder in 2010, had submitted multiple requests for medical care, but he was taken to the hospital only in June 2017 after he passed out from a loss of blood. For years, prisons throughout the country were seen as a boon in rural areas, where they were major employers. At Huttonsville Correctional Center in West Virginia, Robbie Campbell had been complaining of severe constipation and rectal bleeding since the beginning of 2016, according to medical records contained in a lawsuit. In 2009, about 10 percent of all prisoners were 50 or older; by 2019, that number had jumped to 21 percent, according to the Justice Department. But that stopped in 2019 on the eve of the pandemic because of bureaucratic changes within the department. Some states have attempted to deal with an aging prison population through compassionate release programs, and others let out inmates early in 2020 because of Covid concerns. “But unfortunately that has never been the case to the appropriate extent, and it has become worse over time.” In New York, an early epicenter of the pandemic, the rate rose to 32 deaths per 10,000 inmates in 2020, from 25 the year before, while New Jersey recorded 51 deaths per 10,000, up from 21. Prison officials in the three other states did not respond to requests for comment. Researchers said the high numbers — 96 deaths per 10,000 prisoners in West Virginia, more than in any other state — stemmed from long sentences, harsh conditions and relatively poor public health overall.

Deaths in state and federal prisons across America rose nearly 50% during the first year of the pandemic, and in six states, they more than doubled,

In many states, the data showed, high rates continued in 2021. Deaths in state and federal prisons across America rose nearly 50% during the first year of the pandemic, and in six states, they more than doubled, according to the first comprehensive data on prison fatalities in the era of COVID-19. Deaths in state and federal prisons across America rose nearly 50% during the first year of the pandemic, and in six states, they more than doubled, according to the first comprehensive data on prison fatalities in the era of Covid-19.

Across 36 prisons in the state, 76 coinboxes are present in certain prisons where except a few categories of prisoners, including those booked under ...

The responsibility of identifying such prisoners through the mulaqat records will be of the prison staff, the official said. The decision by the office of the Additional Director General of Prisons, Amitabh Gupta, was taken to reduce stress of prisoners who get no visits from their family members or lawyers, officials said. The department also announced that prisoners whose family members are unable to visit them during physical mulaqats (meetings) will have access to the coinbox facility in prisons thrice a month for 10 minutes.

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The final decision regarding the visit of the lawyer will be taken by the Jail Superintendent, considering the local situation. However, to improve the service further, it is recommended that prisoners should be given the telephone facility three times a month for ten minutes each, especially those whose relatives or lawyers do not visit them frequently. Prisoners who do not attend lawyer meetings should also be provided with telephone facilities for ten minutes, up to two times a month, after verifying the phone number with the police administration.