DECARCERATING CORRECTIONAL
FACILITIES DURING COVID-19
Advancing Health, Equity, and Safety
Committee on the Best Practices for Implementing Decarceration as a Strategy to Mitigate the Spread of COVID-19 in Correctional Facilities
Emily A. Wang, Bruce Western, Emily P. Backes, and Julie Schuck, Editors
Committee on Law and Justice
Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education
A Consensus Study Report of
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, DC
www.nap.edu
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001
This activity was supported by contracts between the National Academy of Sciences and Arnold Ventures, Award No. 20-04976 and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Award No. 77915. Additional support was provided by the National Academy of Sciences’ W.K. Kellogg Foundation Fund. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.
International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-68357-9
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-68357-2
Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.17226/25945
Library of Congress Control Number: 2020951736
Additional copies of this publication are available from the National Academies Press, 500 Fifth Street, NW, Keck 360, Washington, DC 20001; (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313; http://www.nap.edu.
Copyright 2020 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America
Suggested citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. Decarcerating Correctional Facilities during COVID-19: Advancing Health, Equity, and Safety. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/25945.
The National Academy of Sciences was established in 1863 by an Act of Congress, signed by President Lincoln, as a private, nongovernmental institution to advise the nation on issues related to science and technology. Members are elected by their peers for outstanding contributions to research. Dr. Marcia McNutt is president.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to bring the practices of engineering to advising the nation. Members are elected by their peers for extraordinary contributions to engineering. Dr. John L. Anderson is president.
The National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine) was established in 1970 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to advise the nation on medical and health issues. Members are elected by their peers for distinguished contributions to medicine and health. Dr. Victor J. Dzau is president.
The three Academies work together as the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation and conduct other activities to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions. The National Academies also encourage education and research, recognize outstanding contributions to knowledge, and increase public understanding in matters of science, engineering, and medicine.
Learn more about the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine at www.nationalacademies.org.
Consensus Study Reports published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine document the evidence-based consensus on the study’s statement of task by an authoring committee of experts. Reports typically include findings, conclusions, and recommendations based on information gathered by the committee and the committee’s deliberations. Each report has been subjected to a rigorous and independent peer-review process and it represents the position of the National Academies on the statement of task.
Proceedings published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine chronicle the presentations and discussions at a workshop, symposium, or other event convened by the National Academies. The statements and opinions contained in proceedings are those of the participants and are not endorsed by other participants, the planning committee, or the National Academies.
For information about other products and activities of the National Academies, please visit www.nationalacademies.org/about/whatwedo.
COMMITTEE ON BEST PRACTICES FOR IMPLEMENTING DECARCERATION AS A STRATEGY TO MITIGATE THE SPREAD OF COVID-19 IN CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES
EMILY A. WANG (Co-chair), Yale School of Medicine
BRUCE WESTERN (Co-chair), Columbia University
DONALD M. BERWICK, Institute for Healthcare Improvement
SHARON DOLOVICH, University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law
DEANNA R. HOSKINS, JustLeadershipUSA
MARGOT KUSHEL, University of California, San Francisco
HEDWIG LEE, Washington University, St. Louis
STEVEN RAPHAEL, University of California, Berkeley
JOSIAH RICH, Brown University
JOHN WETZEL, Pennsylvania Department of Corrections
Staff:
EMILY P. BACKES, Study Director
JULIE SCHUCK, Program Officer
DARA SHEFSKA, Associate Program Officer
STACEY SMIT, Senior Program Assistant
COMMITTEE ON LAW AND JUSTICE
ROBERT D. CRUTCHFIELD (Chair), University of Washington (retired)
SALLY S. SIMPSON (Vice Chair), University of Maryland
SHAWN D. BUSHWAY, RAND Corporation
PREETI CHAUHAN, John Jay College of Criminal Justice
KIMBERLÉ W. CRENSHAW, University of California, Los Angeles
MARK S. JOHNSON, Howard University
CYNTHIA LUM, George Mason University
JAMES P. LYNCH, University of Maryland
JOHN MACDONALD, University of Pennsylvania
KAREN J. MATHIS, American Bar Association (retired), University of Denver
THEODORE A. MCKEE, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Philadelphia
STEVEN RAPHAEL, University of California, Berkeley
LAURIE O. ROBINSON, George Mason University
CYNTHIA RUDIN, Duke University
SUSAN B. SORENSON, University of Pennsylvania
LINDA A. TEPLIN, Northwestern University Medical School
HEATHER ANN THOMPSON, University of Michigan
BRUCE WESTERN, Columbia University
Staff:
NATACHA BLAIN, Director
EMILY P. BACKES, Senior Program Officer
STACEY SMIT, Senior Program Assistant
SOCIETAL EXPERTS ACTION NETWORK (SEAN) EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
MARY T. BASSETT (Co-chair), Harvard University
ROBERT M. GROVES (Co-chair), Georgetown University
DOMINIQUE BROSSARD, University of Wisconsin, Madison
JANET CURRIE, Princeton University
MICHAEL HOUT, New York University
ARATI PRABHAKAR, Actuate
ADRIAN E. RAFTERY, University of Washington
JENNIFER RICHESON, Yale University
Staff:
MONICA N. FEIT, Deputy Executive Director DBASSE
ADRIENNE STITH BUTLER, Associate Board Director
EMILY P. BACKES, Senior Program Officer
NATALIE NIELSEN, Senior Program Officer
DARA SHEFSKA, Associate Program Officer
PAMELLA ATAYI, Program Coordinator
This page intentionally left blank.
Acknowledgments
This report would not have been possible without the contributions of many people. First, we thank the sponsors of this study: Arnold Ventures and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Special thanks go to the members of the study committee, who dedicated extensive time, thought, and energy to the project on such a compressed timeline.
In addition to its own research and deliberations, the committee received input from several outside sources, whose willingness to share their perspectives and experience was essential to the committee’s work. We thank Annette Chambers-Smith (Ohio Department of Corrections), Jennifer Clarke (Rhode Island Department of Corrections), Sara Smith Kariko (Washington State Department of Corrections), Lisa Puglisi (Yale School of Medicine), Homer Venters (former Chief Medical Officer of the New York City Correctional Health Services), Vikki Wachino (Community Oriented Correctional Health Services), Brie Williams (University of California, San Francisco), and Tyler Winkelman (Hennepin County and University of Minnesota). The committee also gathered information through a commissioned paper. We thank Lauren Brinkley-Rubinstein (University of North Carolina) and Kathryn Nowotny (University of Miami) and the COVID Prison Project for their contributions to the report.
The committee was also able to elicit input from correctional officials and formerly incarcerated individuals and their families. We extend our gratitude to Ingrid Archie (A New Way of Life), David Ayala (Formerly Incarcerated, Convicted People & Families Movement), Susan Burton (A New Way of Life), Jerry Fitz (Virginia Department of Corrections), Stevyn
Fogg (Correctional Leaders Association), Mike Haddon (Utah Department of Corrections), Todd Ishee (North Carolina Department of Public Safety), Kevin Kempf (Correctional Leaders Association), Valerie Langley (North Carolina Department of Public Safety), Mike Leidholt (South Dakota Department of Corrections), Dave Luxton (Washington Department of Corrections), Brandon Marshall (Washington Department of Corrections), Arminda Miller (Washington Department of Corrections), Reverend Vivian Nixon (College and Community Fellowship), Bryan Stirling (South Carolina Department of Corrections), and Dean Williams (Colorado Department of Corrections).
This Consensus Study Report was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in making each published report as sound as possible and to ensure that it meets the institutional standards for quality, objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process.
We thank the following individuals for their review of this report: Shawn D. Bushway, Behavioral and Policy Sciences Department, RAND Corporation; Charles D. Lee, President-elect, American College of Correctional Physicians; Ojmarrh Mitchell, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Arizona State University; Samuel L. Myers, Jr., Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota; Anne Spaulding, Department of Epidemiology and Preparedness in Jails Project, Emory University; Sonja B. Starr, Professor of Law, University of Chicago; and Brie Williams, School of Medicine and Criminal Justice and Health Program, University of California, San Francisco.
Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations of this report nor did they see the final draft before its release. The review of this report was overseen by John V. Pepper, Department of Economics, University of Virginia and Philip J. Cook, Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke University. They were responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with the standards of the National Academies and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content rests entirely with the authoring committee and the National Academies.
The committee also wishes to extend its gratitude to the staff of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, in particular to Emily Backes, for her expert direction of this study from beginning to end, and Julie Schuck, who made critical substantive contributions in the
conception, writing, and editing of the report. Thanks are also due to Dara Shefska for her skilled writing assistance and contributions to the communications and dissemination of the report. Stacey Smit provided key administrative and logistical support and made sure the committee process ran efficiently and smoothly. Throughout the project, Natacha Blain, director of the Committee on Law and Justice, provided oversight. Thanks are also due to our Societal Experts Action Network colleagues, in particular Monica Feit, who provided helpful guidance and insight throughout the study process. From the Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, we thank Kirsten Sampson Snyder and Douglas Sprunger, who shepherded the report through the review process and assisted with its communication and dissemination. We also thank Rona Briere, Genie Grohman, and Allie Boman for their skillful editing.
This page intentionally left blank.
Contents
Magnified Inequity in the COVID-19 Pandemic
2 Correctional Facilities and COVID-19: Context and Framing
The Basic Epidemiology of COVID-19
The Correctional System as an Amplifier of COVID-19 Spread
Mitigating Transmission in Correctional Facilities
3 Considerations for Decarceration
Balancing Public Safety and Public Health
Prison and Jail Depopulation in 2020
Employment and Income Supports
5 Guidance for Depopulating Correctional Facilities
Mitigating the Spread of the Virus
Guiding Principles of Equity and Transparency
Taking Action: The Committee’s Conclusions and Recommendations
Preparedness for Future COVID-19 Outbreaks and Pandemics
Data Needs and Research Recommendations