The Supreme Judicial Court ruled in April that pre-trial detainees who have been charged with non-violent crimes could be released during the COVID-19 pandemic to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins believes that the Supreme Judicial Court and the Baker administration should go further to protect inmates.
Rollins and State Rep. Jon Santiago are now calling for post-conviction sentenced individuals who have either served most of their sentences or are at high risk for contracting COVID-19 be eligible for release. Rollins and Santiago joined Jim Bruade on WGBH News' Greater Boston Wednesday night.
“This is not about whether or not you are soft or hard on crime, this is about whether we believe in justice in all of its forms. If you look at COVID-19 from a medical perspective, it doesn’t respect rules. It only knows survival through transmission, and the overcrowding of prisons and jails really allows the virus to spread,” Santiago said.
More than 500 inmates and nearly 300 prison staff members in Massachusetts have contracted COVID-19, and eight prisoners have died from the virus, according to Prisoners’ Legal Services of Massachusetts.
“We need all hands-on deck now regarding these issues,” Rollins said.
