May 9
2020
Faulty logic behind refusal to release inmates
Updated at 10:40 a.m. The argument prosecutors, and sometimes judges, make is that few inmates have tested positive for COVID-19, so it’s safe to keep them incarcerated. Authorities, however, are not testing many inmates, so they don’t know how healthy they really are. As a result, relatively few prisoners held in Erie County jails or the state’s 53 prisons who are deemed as infectious risks are being released. Only five of Erie County’s 528 inmates have been tested, and only 52 have been released due to COVID-19 concerns. “The standard line from the DA’s office is that ‘We don’t have[...]