ST. PAUL 鈥� With the threat of a coronavirus outbreak occurring in one of the state's correctional facilities, the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota, along with 34 other organizations, are urging Gov. Tim Walz to release some inmates from incarceration as the respiratory illness spreads throughout the region.
According to a Wednesday, April 29, news release, the organizations penned a draft executive order for the governor to sign in order to release low-level offenders in hopes of preventing an outbreak of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by coronavirus, in Minnesota correctional facilities.
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ACLU-MN Legal Director Teresa Nelson said in Wednesday's release that "the only way to prevent COVID cases from overwhelming jails and prisons," as well as local communities and hospitals, is to reduce inmate populations to allow for social distancing. Keeping jails and prisons crowded increases the likelihood of transmission between inmates, staff and nearby communities, she said.
鈥淐OVID-19 already is spreading like wildfire in the Minnesota Correctional Facilities in Moose Lake and Willow River, endangering inmates, staff and surrounding communities,鈥� ACLU-MN Legal Director Teresa Nelson said in Wednesday's news release. 鈥淭he close and crowded quarters associated with jails and prisons make containment impossible."
With , the organizations are urging Walz to release via executive order inmates in high-risk categories due to chronic conditions and age, those who have less than one year left on their sentences and those incarcerated because of technical probation violations (not a new offense).
The news release noted that a disproportionate number of incarcerated people are people of color, and minorities are already facing disproportionate death tolls from COVID-19 outside of prison.
"Detention should not be a death sentence," they wrote.
The executive order written by the groups would also prohibit state law enforcement from making new arrests for misdemeanors or failure to appear in court, require officers to issue warnings and citations for new felony offenses unless they're imminently dangerous and suspend contracts with ICE. The order as written would apply to jails and juvenile facilities, as well.
ACLU-MN penned a letter calling for . Wednesday's 34 co-signers include the Legal Rights Center, Second Chance Coalition, NAACP - Minneapolis, local chapters of the National Lawyers Guild and more.
