The COVID-19 crisis has motivated me to return to blogging, something I haven't done much in a long time. And what motivated me is the increasing reports of Corona Virus in prison. Hearing the stories brings me straight back to my days packed cheek to jowl with 200 other guys in a dorm, back to the days when one guy on the other side of the dorm caught a cold and a day later we all had it; back to the days when a visit to the overloaded prison health office was an exercise in futility - no matter what the symptom, the response was 'take an aspirin'. It makes me so thankful to no longer be there, but worried for those who are.
The actual inmate population is about as far from the stereotype as night and day. The average Joe Smith imagines bulked-up young tough guys who seem like they could withstand a nuclear blast. The reality is that the majority of inmates are elderly, or non-violent, or close to the end of their sentences, or awaiting trial, or with a host of underlying health conditions. In other words, most don't need to be in jail, especially in a pandemic!
All I can say is - let them out before it's too late!! If we don't, we'll have yet another humanitarian disaster on our hands.
