News & Commentary

We're Suing for Release of Incarcerated People Most Vulnerable to COVID-19

On April 9, we sent a letter calling on Governor McMaster to immediately mandate a prison reduction plan and protect incarcerated people from the perilous risks associated with COVID-19 in correctional settings. Despite the recommendations of public health experts and pleas from concerned advocates and loved ones of incarcerated people, Governor McMaster has continued to neglect his duty to care for people in custody -- including those who are most at risk of becoming critically ill or dying from COVID-19. We're suing to prevent death by incarceration. Along with our pro-bono partners at international law firm Arnold & Porter, we filed a federal lawsuit this evening against Governor Henry McMaster, South Carolina Department of Corrections Director Bryan Stirling, and members of the South Carolina Board of Pardons and Paroles. Protection and Advocacy for People with Disabilities, Inc. (P&A) also joined the lawsuit as a plaintiff on behalf of incarcerated people with disabilities.

April 21, 2020

We're suing to prevent death by incarceration.

Along with our pro-bono partners at international law firm Arnold & Porter, we filed a federal lawsuit this evening against Governor Henry McMaster, South Carolina Department of Corrections Director Bryan Stirling, and members of the South Carolina Board of Pardons and Paroles. Protection and Advocacy for People with Disabilities, Inc. (P&A) also joined the lawsuit as a plaintiff on behalf of incarcerated people with disabilities.

We are asking the courts to grant immediate relief for incarcerated people who are at particular risk of serious harm or death from COVID-19, including those who:

have serious underlying medical conditions,
have developmental disabilities or mental conditions, or
are 50 years of age or older.

Additionally, to enable social distancing and other preventative measures, we are seeking to further reduce the prison population through release of people who are:

within six months of their anticipated release date,
eligible for parole and disciplinary free for the past year, or
in custody for technical violations of parole or probation.

Incarcerated people are housed in close quarters, are often in poor health, are unable to engage in social distancing practices recommended by the CDC, and thus are at heightened risk of becoming infected with and dying from COVID-19. Because of this severe threat and the potential for COVID-19 to rapidly spread throughout a correctional setting, public health experts have recommended the rapid release from custody of those who are most vulnerable.

COVID-19 arrived in a prison system already suffering from horrific conditions of confinement. For years, SCDC has been plagued by a chronic staffing shortage which created conditions that led to a deadly riot at Lee Correctional Institution in 2018. A 2019 report by the S.C. General Assembly Legislative Audit Council clearly states that SCDC is unequipped to maintain safe operations and deliver necessary medical care and programs to incarcerated people on an average day, much less during a deadly pandemic. SCDC Director Stirling, himself, has acknowledged that his agency “cannot hire [its] way out of” the state prison staffing shortage, meaning that unless there is a significant population reduction, SCDC will remain unable to provide safety and sufficient medical care to those in its custody.

Documents

Voltz-Loomis, et al. v. McMaster, et al. complaint.pdf

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News & Commentary

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A Man in South Carolina Custody Died From COVID-19. Officials Must Uphold Their Duty to Protect Incarcerated People Before It Happens Again.

South Carolina has a moral and legal obligation to protect the people it incarcerates. For weeks we have asked South Carolina officials to uphold this obligation in the face of COVID-19, including releasing those most vulnerable to contracting and dying from this virus. South Carolina officials have ignored their responsibility. The consequences are tragic and predicted. James Slater, a 70-year-old man incarcerated at Allendale Correctional Institution, died yesterday from COVID-19. To be clear, no one in custody should die in connection to abuse or neglect by the state.Mr. Slater’s death was preventable. The rate of recidivism for people over age 65 is nearly 0%, meaning almost all incarcerated people over age 65 pose virtually no threat to public safety. Additionally, there are multiple avenues by which Mr. Slater and other incarcerated people his age or older could have been released to a safer environment ahead of a COVID-19 outbreak. The Director of the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC) has the authority to petition the parole board to release people who are 70 years of age or older. During a state of emergency, the Governor has the authority to do anything necessary to keep people safe. Neither SCDC nor the Governor, we tragically learned yesterday, has upheld their duty to protect.The virus’s ability to spread through asymptomatic carriers has been well-documented. For example, correctional institutions across the country that have issued mass testing have found that as much as 70% of the population of a single institution has tested positive for COVID-19, with a vast majority showing no symptoms at all. Therefore, testing and monitoring only those who are symptomatic is neither a solution nor a good faith effort.It is absolutely essential that those with the authority to act do everything in their immense power to prevent future deaths from COVID-19 in correctional settings. This includes ordering mass testing of all incarcerated people and staff and substantially reducing the number of people held in South Carolina’s prisons and jails.