We all have some idea of what prisons are like: cramped bodies forced into too-small cells and massive bunk rooms filled with hundreds of people stacked two and three high. Overcrowded yards are the only exercise most get.
As we collectively learn about COVID-19, we should all be seeing red flags in the prison system. But it is even worse than the obvious overcrowding and inability to socially distance. In prison systems all across the country, there have been reports of even the barest precautions not being met, and prisoners with symptoms being ignored and left in general population.
At our own state prison in Draper, there is currently a major outbreak. They are still housing infected patients alongside uninfected people, essentially putting at least two cell blocks (over 300 people) on COVID-19 death row.
The prisons and prison hospitals do not have the resources to keep these people safe or provide adequate treatment. The only solution available to us is to decrease prison populations drastically. That means pardons, early releases and anything to get people out of that dire situation. Free them all.
Karl Mensch, Salt Lake City