page_title: Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on prisons
section_title: United States
hierarchical_section_title: Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on prisons / United States
caption_attribution_description: 2IMG_0419
context_page_description: The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted prisons globally. There have been outbreaks of COVID-19 reported in prisons and jails around the world, with the housing density and population turnover of many prisons contributing to an increased risk of contracting the virus compared to the general population. Prison crowding and lack of sanitation measures contribute to the risk of contracting diseases in prisons and jails.
  As a mitigation measure, several jurisdictions have released prisoners to reduce density and attempt to reduce the spread of the illness. There have also been protests among prisoners and prison breaks in multiple countries in response to prisoner anger over their risk of contracting illness in prison conditions.
context_section_description: As of July 3, the five worst outbreaks of COVID-19 in the U.S. have occurred in jails and prisons. The hardest hit institution is Marion Correctional Institution in Marion Ohio with 2,439 cases. The others include Pickaway Correctional Institution in Scioto Township, Ohio (1,791 cases), San Quentin State Prison in San Quentin, California (1,483 cases), Harris County jail in Houston, Texas (1,390 cases), and Trousdale Turner Correctional Center in Hartsville, Tennessee (1,379 cases). Forty outbreaks in the U.S. involve clusters of 500 or more people. Of those, thirty-one occurred at correctional facilities. Eight of the remaining outbreaks occurred at meat packing and processing plants, while one occurred aboard the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt.
  On any given day, 2.3 million people are incarcerated in 6,000 facilities in the United States, presenting officials with the difficult task of preventing coronavirus outbreaks among prisoners and staff. Prisoners often sleep close together. Many prisons have poor sanitation, and alcohol-based hand sanitizer is often prohibited for inmates. 
  The vast majority of these prisoners are in state or local custody. State governors usually have the power to choose to release prisoners, but generally they do not do so, a trend that has not changed even given the COVID-19 crisis. For example, in response to the pandemic, California and Kentucky released less than four percent of their prisoners, while Arizona stated that it would release none.
  The remaining minority of prisoners are in federal custody.
  Between March 22 and March 26, 23 inmates escaped and at least one inmate tested positive for COVID-19 in each of two prisons. Judges ordered the liberation of thousands of prison inmates, and there were calls to release all medically vulnerable inmates.
  As of April 8, there were at least 1,300 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 32 deaths in prisons and jails across the United States.
caption: April 24, 2020: Protest event in Columbus, Ohio calling for 20,000 early prison releases
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