2020
DECEMBE
ICE I I IA I E
F J
MI E
HE

LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19
H
HE 2020 A DEMIC
A AGED L
I IA A
I
JAIL , A D DE E I
CE

E

,

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

TABLE OF CONTENTS:
AC KN O WLEDGEM EN TS
EX EC UTIVE SUM M ARY
IN TRO DUC TIO N

2
3
5

PART I: A S ERIES O F C RISES AT E VERY LE VEL O F IN C ARC ERATIO N
THE BE G INNING OF THE VIRAL SPRE AD
F E DE RAL F AC ILITIE S
O A K D A L E F E D E R A L C O R R E C T IO N A L I N ST I T U T I O N
I M M IG R A T I O N D E T E N T I O N C E N T E R S T H R O U G H O U T L O U I S IA N A
STATE RU N F AC ILITIE S
L O U I S IA N A S T A T E P E N IT E N T IA R Y
L O U I SIA N A C O R R E C T IO N A L I N ST I T U T E F O R W O M E N
O F F IC E O F J U V E N I LE J U S T IC E F A C ILI T IE S
LOCA L FA CI LI TI ES
O R L E A N S P A R ISH P R IS O N
E A ST B A T O N R O U G E P A R ISH P R IS O N

7
7
9
9
13
14
17
24
26
30
30
32

PART II: IN AD EQ UATE AN D HARM FUL GO V ERN M EN T RESPO N SES
INITIAL STATE WIDE RE SPONSE
CAM P J
R E V IE W P A N E L
H E A L T H E Q U IT Y T A S K F O R C E
M ISINF ORM ATION AND A LAC K OF TRANSPARE NC Y
D E PL ORABL E C ONDITIO NS OF C ONF INE M E N T
S O L I T A R Y C O N F IN E M E N T A N D L O C KD O W N S
N O O R I N A D E Q U A T E M E D IC A L C A R E
F O R C E D L A B O R I N D A N G E R O U S C O N D IT I O N S
F AILURE TO USE RE L E ASE M E C HANISM S
F AILURE TO C OND UC T M ASS TE STING

35

PART III: R EC O M M EN DATIO N S

51
53
54
56
58

C O N C LUSIO N
APPEN DIX A: DE VELO PM EN TS IN ADDITIO N AL STATE F AC ILITIES
APPEN DIX B: DE VELO PM EN TS IN ADDITIO N AL LO C AL F AC ILITIES
EN DN O TES

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

35
35
37
39
41
43
44
44
46
47
49

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
T hroughout the C O V ID - 19
pande mic, pe ople lo c ke d in
pris o ns, jails, and detentio n
c enters ac ross the state o f
L ou is iana have bee n fighting fo r
the ir lives . T he y and the ir lo ved
o nes o n the outs ide hav e
display ed a leve l of stre ngth,
e ndu ranc e, and adv oc acy that is
u nmatc he d. S ince the early days
o f the pande mic in M arc h 20 20,
inc arcerated peo ple and the ir
lo ve d ones ac ross the state
have re ache d o ut to ou r office
to tell the ir s to ries about how
C O V ID -19 began to c ree p into
the ir liv ing spaces and upend
the ir daily lives . U nlike those o f
us on the ou ts ide, who are able
to make c ho ices to s oc ial
distanc e, c o ntro l ou r
su rro undings , and maintain
c le aning and sanitiz ing
practices, those ins ide are
u nable to e ngage in these bas ic
s afe ty me asu res to ke ep
the mse lves he althy.

S taff C o ntributo rs:
M e rce des M o ntagnes
J amila J o hns o n
R ebecc a R amas wamy
N is hi Ku mar
E ddie Ke ith
M ic hael C aho on
Katie H u nte r-L ow rey
Be n C ohen
A mbe r T ho rpe
Z o e Re ie r
...and all the staff at PJ I and
C A P for sharing ou r clie nts ’
sto ries
Intern C o ntributors :
M aya C haudhu ri
J ac qu i O este rblad
M e redith B oo ker
E lio ra M intz
S amantha O livero
P artner C o ntribu to rs:
P rofess o r A ndrea
A rmstro ng
R ev ere nd A le xis A nders o n
D r. A njali N iy o gi

T his re port is de dic ate d to all
the incarc erate d pe o ple w ho
bec ame infected w ith C O V ID -19
and the family me mbe rs of
those who lost the ir liv es to
C O V ID -19 w hile incarc erate d.

THE PROMISE
OF JUSTICE
INITIATIVE

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

3

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
S inc e the C O V ID -19 pande mic
began s wee ping ac ross the
U nite d States in F ebru ary 20 20,
mo st A meric ans have c hange d
the ir lives , habits , and the way
they inte ract with others in
o rde r to kee p thems elves and
o the rs s afe . These be hav ioral
s hifts have bee n imposs ible in
c arce ral fac ilities .
A dministrators o f priso ns, jails ,
and de te ntio n ce nters across
the c ou ntry have stru ggle d to
e ffe ctiv ely respo nd to the
s pre ad o f C O V ID -19. In
L ou is iana, offic ials at fe de ral,
state , and loc al fac ilities have
respo nde d po o rly to the
pande mic by failing to
imple me nt mass testing and
pre ve ntativ e me asu res ,
qu arantining pe ople in are as of
pris o ns that had bee n
pre v iously c los ed due to
dec ay ing c o nditio ns, and failing
to pro v ide adequate me dic al
c are to those expe rie nc ing
C O V ID -19 sy mpto ms. T his re po rt
details how C O V ID -19
pro gress ed throu gh co rrec tio nal
institutio ns ac ross the state and
ho w gove rnment offic ials have
failed to pro pe rly respo nd to
the pandemic.
L ou is iana’s O akdale F ede ral
C o rrectional Institutio n w as o ne
o f the firs t c arce ral fac ilities in
the c ou ntry to reach c ris is lev el
o nce the pande mic began and

STATE FACILITIES
Louisiana Department of Health
• Guidance calling for depopulation
mysteriously rescinded
• Website reporting statewide numbers
does not include people in prisons
Camp J Plan
• State implemented plan to transfer all
COVID-19 patients to a previously
shuttered, decrepit disciplinary unit at
Louisiana State Penitentiary—over an
hour from the nearest reference hospital
Lack of Testing
• DOC received 24,000 test kits between
June and September and has only
administered just over 7,000 tests to
incarcerated persons as of early December
(DOC has over 31,000 people within its
immediate custody)
Children
• Office of Juvenile Justice cancelled all
visitation and programming and limited
family contact to phone calls, which the
children had to pay for
• Children were pepper sprayed, placed in
solitary confinement, and locked in their
dorms for up to 23 hours per day
Review Panel for Furlough
• Only 1,200 people, 4% of DOC population,
eligible for panel review for furlough
under narrow criteria
• Panel disbanded in June with only 72
individuals having been released—0.2% of
DOC population

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

4

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

w as the s ite of the first
c o nfirme d C O V ID -19 de ath in a
federal pris on. A t an IC E
P rocess ing C enter, 7 9 w omen
w ho as ke d fo r s o ap we re
inste ad trappe d in a roo m and
peppe r-s praye d. Wee ks afte r
the pandemic hit L ou is iana, the
L ou is iana D e partme nt o f H ealth
(LD H ) issu ed its firs t gu idance
regarding pris o ns, w hich c alle d
fo r de popu latio n, amo ng othe r
actio ns—but this gu idance w as
mysteriously res cinde d w ithin
ho urs . A s of e arly D ece mbe r,
L ou is iana D e partme nt o f Pu blic
S afety and C orrec tio ns (D O C )
w as re porting 2, 586 c o nfirmed
C O V ID -19 c ases and 31 deaths
in the state pris ons . A t loc al jails

FEDERAL FACILITIES
Oakdale Federal Correctional
Institution
• “Ground zero” of federal prison system
• Site of first confirmed COVID-19 death
in federal prison
• Justice Department found that Oakdale
“failed to comply with federal health
guidance”
Immigration Detention Centers
• 79 women asked for soap and were
pepper sprayed
• 83 people pepper sprayed and left in
room full of pepper spray after
requesting to be released or deported
to escape threat of COVID-19
• Employees initially forbidden from
wearing masks

and priso ns , lac k of re porting
and transpare ncy has o bsc ured
the rampant spre ad of the v irus
as w ell as its death toll.
P art I of this re port prov ides a
time line of C O V ID - 19 ’s
pro gress io n throu gh
c o rrectio nal fac ilities throu ghou t
L ou is iana. This sectio n co ntains
first-hand acc ou nts from those
inc arcerated and the ir love d
o nes, c o mbine d w ith data
o btaine d fro m gov ernme nt
o ffic ials through L ou is iana
P ublic Re co rds Law requests.
P art II dis cusses how the
go ve rnment ¾ inc lu ding the
G o ve rno r, the Lo u isiana
D e partme nt of H e alth, and the
L ou is iana D e partme nt o f Pu blic
S afety and C orrec tio ns ¾
prov ide d an inade qu ate and
harmful res pons e to the
pande mic, including by
disse minating misinfo rmatio n,
ho lding pe ople in deplo rable
c o nditio ns o f c o nfine me nt, and
failing to use re le ase
mec hanis ms and to c o nduct
mass testing. P art III prov ides

LOCAL FACILITIES
Inconsistency
• Sheriffs’ responses varied dramatically
Lack of Transparency
• Only 6 out of 64 parishes responded to
a data request from the State’s Health
Equity Task Force

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

5

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

rec o mme ndatio ns to
go ve rnment offic ials fo r
c o ntro lling the c ontinu ed
s pre ad o f C O V ID -19 and
adequ ately respo nding to future
public health c rises .

INTRODUCTION
A s C O V ID -19 began to spre ad
thro ughout the U nited S tates in
F ebru ary and M arc h 20 20,
inc arcerated peo ple ac ross the
c ou ntry , alo ng w ith the ir
adv oc ates and lo ve d o nes,
began to raise the alarm that
the v irus c ould s o o n ov ertake
c o rrectio nal fac ilities
natio nw ide. T hat w o rry w as
we ll-fou nded. Pris o ns and jails
foster c o nditio ns fo r v iral
s pre ad. N amely , s oc ial
distanc ing is imposs ible in these
fac ilities, health care—
partic ularly emerge nc y c are—is
ge nerally inadequate, and
inc arcerated peo ple are more
like ly to have u nde rly ing
illnesses and c o -mo rbidities ,
w hic h make the m more like ly to
dev elop se ve re s ympto ms if
they c o ntract C O V ID -19 and
requ ire me dic al interve ntio n. 1 A
rece nt stu dy fou nd that pe o ple
in jail and pris o ns are five and a
half times mo re likely to be
infe cte d w ith C O V ID -19 and
three times mo re likely to die
fro m the v irus than the ge ne ral
po pu latio n. 2 O ne man

inc arcerated in A ngola wrote to
P JI o n M arch 21 to e xpress his
fears about the v irus and its
s pre ad:
“M y co nditio n is g etting wo rs er b y
the day, I only have fou r ye ars
re maining until my re leas e , bu t I
am afraid I may die here
b ec ause the y have guards he re
who have take n sic k on the job
with corona s ympto ms and were
take n ou t of he re in ambu lanc es.
I be lie ve the virus is already
he re ! Se ve ral inmates have
b ec o me grave ly ill, bu t DO C is
not te lling the me dia abou t this.”
A cross the c o untry , the re has
bee n a c ollective failure to take
ste ps to re duc e the impact of
C O V ID -19 on jail and pris o n
po pu latio ns. T he respo nse in
L ou is iana is no different. While
the go vernme nt has a
respo ns ibility to kee p ev ery o ne
in the state safe, it has a spec ial
duty to care fo r pe ople in its
c ustody. D etaining peo ple
du ring normal times, as w ell as
du ring a glo bal pande mic ,
requ ires state and priso n
o ffic ials to prote ct inc arce rated
pe ople fro m c ruel and unusu al
pu nis hme nt and to pre ve nt
su bstantial risk of se rious harm.
T he duty arises from the
imme nse restrictio ns that
inc arceratio n impos es o n
pe ople ; w hile fre e pe ople c an
make dec is io ns abou t w he ther

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

6

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

to expose the mselves to ris ks
and take steps to protect
the mse lves and affirmativ ely
se ek he alth care , inc arce rated
pe ople cannot. T his disparity is
magnifie d du ring the pande mic ,
as inc arce rated pe ople have no
c o ntro l o ver s oc ial distanc ing,
acc ess to pers o nal protective
e qu ipment (PPE ), o r s ee king o ut
C O V ID -19 tes ts o r othe r me dic al
c are. L ou is iana, w ith high rates
o f incarc eration, an aging
inmate po pu latio n, and
diminis hed opportu nities fo r
parole , assu mes the
respo ns ibility o f pro v iding
me dic al c are . E ve n be fore the
pande mic, L ou is iana had the
highest rate of pris oner deaths
o f any state in the c ou ntry, 3
w hic h is u nsu rpris ing giv en that
the state also s pent the least
amo unt of mo ne y o n he alth care
per pris o ner. 4
In L ou is iana, C O V ID -19 has
dispropo rtio nate ly impacte d
pe ople o f c o lo r, particu larly
B lack pe ople—in A pril, it was
repo rte d that rou ghly 7 0
perce nt o f the pe ople w ho had
died of C O V ID -19 in L ou is iana
we re Blac k, eve n thou gh B lac k
pe ople make up only 3 2 pe rce nt
o f the s tate’s po pu latio n. 5 T his
disparity is ev en mo re
pro no unce d in carc eral settings,
w he re Blac k and brow n pe o ple
are dispropo rtio nate ly

repres ented. F u rthe r, the
c o nflue nce of incarce ration and
po o r he alth o utc o mes does no t
hit all Lo u isianans e qually .
W hile the re are pre -e xis ting
racial disparities in both the
c riminal le gal syste m and in
public health indic ato rs,
es pe cially for C O V ID -19
patients, L ou is iana has o ne o f
the highest gaps fo r thes e
disparities. 6 T he le gacy o f
c hatte l s lave ry as well as
c enturies of systemic rac ism are
at play in dete rmining w ho is
mo st impacte d by the pande mic
in L o uis iana. Thus, an
ineffective res po nse to the
pande mic fu rthe r e ntre nc hes
racial injustice.
P art I of this re port prov ides a
c hro nolo gy for how C O V ID -19
s pre ad throu ghout L ou is iana’s
pris o ns, jails, and detentio n
fac ilities and highlights e ffo rts
to s te m the s pread throu gh
legal action. Part II e xplains how
the State of L ou is iana faile d to
pro perly res po nd to C O V ID -19
and c ontinu es to inadequately
address the o ngo ing public
he alth cris is . L ast, Part III
prov ides rec o mmendations fo r
actio ns that s tate offic ials c an
take to lesse n the already
c atastro phic impact that C O V ID 19 has had o n c arceral fac ilities
imme diately and fo r future
o utbreaks .

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

7

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

PART I: A SERIES OF CRISES AT EVERY
LEVEL OF INCARCERATION
THE BEGINNING OF
THE VIRAL SPREAD
T aking into acc ou nt the prepande mic c onditions , it w as
c le ar to pe o ple w ho are
inc arcerated, the ir family and
frie nds, and othe r adv oc ates
that Lo u isiana pris o ns and jails
w ou ld prese nt an u nc o ntro llable
c ris is o nce e ve n a s ingle c ase
o f the v irus re ac he d the m. F ro m
the beginning, the v irus s pread
like w ildfire throu gh these
fac ilities, w he re ade quate s o cial
distanc ing w as, fo r the most
part, imposs ible , and staff
me mbers we re c o ming in and
o ut from the c o mmunity. O ne o f
the first jail- relate d c ases was a
me dic al staffer at the O rle ans
P arish P riso n, w ho w as
c o nfirme d pos itive for C O V ID -19
arou nd M arc h 21. 7 A llen,
Je ffe rs o n, L afayette, and
O rleans P aris h Pris o ns all had
c o nfirme d c ases amo ng
detained peo ple by M arc h 24. 8
T wo state pris on e mployee s,
including one maintenance staff
me mber fro m Lo uis iana S tate
P enitentiary (L SP), w ere
c o nfirme d to hav e teste d
pos itive o n M arc h 26. 9 T hree
c hildre n in the cus to dy of the

O ffic e of Ju ve nile Justic e (O JJ)
had tested pos itiv e by M arc h
27 . 10 A ls o o n M arc h 27 , the
w arde n o f Ray mo nd Laborde
C o rrectional C enter tes te d
pos itive. 11
T he first pos itiv e test resu lt o f a
pers o n inc arce rate d in a
D e partme nt of C orre ctio ns -ru n
state pris on occ urre d o n M arch
28 at Rayburn C o rrectio nal
C enter. 12 Tw o pe ople de taine d
in the E ast Bato n R ou ge P aris h
P ris on tes te d pos itive afte r

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

8

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

MARCH 24

MARCH 27

MARCH 29

APRIL 10

Reported cases in Allen,
Jefferson, Lafayette, and
Orleans Parish Prisons

3 children in OJJ
custody test positive

2 incarcerated people at
EBRPP test positive after being
transported to the hospital

DOC confirms cases on COVID19 at two prisons and among
staff at 4 other prisons

I

I

MARCH 21

MARCH 26

MARCH 28

APRIL 1

APRIL 20

First COVID-19 case
in a correctional
facility (Orleans)

2 LSP employees
test positive

First COVID-19
positive case in a
state prison (Rayburn)

DOC confirms cases of
COVID-19 at two
prisons and among
staff at 4 other prisons

First COVID-19 death of an
incarcerated person at LSP.
Warden & Medical Dir. of
Raymond Laborde Corr.
Center die from COVID-19

Figure 1: Timeline of Initial Spread of COVID-19 in Louisiana Correctional Facilities

trans port to a loc al e me rge ncy
ro o m o n M arch 28 and 29. 13 By
A pril 1, the D O C had c o nfirmed
c ases amo ng inc arcerated
pe ople at tw o s tate pris o ns, in
addition to s taff w orking at
those and fou r o ther state
pris o ns. 14 T hat s ame day, an
inc arcerated pers o n re po rted
that pe o ple at D ixo n
C o rrectional Institute , o ne o f the
pris o ns w ith c onfirme d c ases,
we re “dropping like flies .”
Inc arce rate d pe ople , lo ve d
o nes, and adv oc ates qu ic kly
c alle d fo r the state to take
actio n. O n M arc h 16, a grou p o f
o rganiz ations that adv oc ate for
the rights of indiv idu als
detained and impris o ne d in
L ou is iana se nt a lette r to
G o ve rno r E dw ards u rging him
“to imme diately dev elop
e v idence- base d and proactive
plans fo r the pre ve ntion and
manage me nt of C O V ID -19 in the
D e partme nt of C orre ctio ns [and
in] L ou is iana’s jails and ju ve nile

fac ilities.”15 O n A pril 8, when
the re was a c o nfirme d pos itive
c ase at almost ev ery pris o n in
the state , and o ve r 18, 0 0 0 cases
in the ove rall state po pulation, a
grou p o f ov er fifty faith le ade rs
c alle d o n G o ve rno r E dw ards to
act quic kly in advanc e of E aste r
S u nday. 16
D e aths be gan s oo n thereafte r. A
L ou is iana State Pe nite ntiary
e mploye e die d o n G o o d F riday,
A pril 10 . 17 O n A pril 20 , the first
inc arcerated v ic tim of C O V ID - 19
w as a 69 -ye ar- old man at LS P
w ho w as re ported to hav e
u nde rly ing health co nditio ns . 18
By the n, both the warden and
the medical directo r of
R ay mo nd L abo rde C orrec tio nal
C enter had die d o f C O V ID -19. 19
A s news o f these pos itive c ases
and the de aths fo llow ing s oo n
the re after e me rged, detaine d
and inc arce rate d pe o ple v o ice d
inc reas ing co nc erns about the
lac k of an appropriate res pons e

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

9

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

plan. In the O rle ans P arish
P ris on, pe o ple w ith u nde rly ing
me dic al c onditions s po ke out to
e xpress c o nce rns w ith the lac k
o f available informatio n and the
qu ic kly grow ing nu mber of
pe ople with sy mptoms . 20 A t this
po int, state and loc al
go ve rnments c ou ld have, and
s ho uld have , ac te d qu ic kly to
c o ntain the v irus in co rrectio nal
settings and prote ct the he alth
o f incarc erate d pe o ple and
c o mmu nities throu ghou t the
state . B ut the gove rnment failed
to act des pite the pleas of many
c o mmu nity me mbers to do s o.

FEDERAL FACILITIES
T he larges t jailer in the c ou ntry
is the federal go ve rnme nt. The
D e partme nt of Justic e ov ers ees
the Bu re au o f Pris o ns (B O P),
w hic h he ld ove r 163 , 0 00 pe ople
at the be ginning o f the
pande mic. 21 T hat does not
include the nu mbe r o f pe ople in
pre trial fe de ral de te ntio n,
Immigration and C usto m’s
E nfo rce ment (IC E ) dete ntion
fac ilities, or in U .S. M ars hals
S erv ice c ustody . 22 Yet the
federal go vernme nt’s res pons e
to the s pread o f co ronavirus in

i

According to the Bureau of Prisons website as of
October 13, 2020, FCI Pollock, USP Pollock, FCI
Oakdale I, and FCI Oakdale II, which are located in

these fac ilities has bee n
abysmal. A M ars hall P ro ject
inves tigatio n fou nd that BO P
staff igno re d sy mpto ms of
C O V ID -19 , did not s eparate s ic k
and healthy pe ople , c o ntinue d
to transpo rt pe o ple betwe en
fac ilities throu gh e arly M arch,
c o ntinue d to w ork afte r
e xposu re to co nfirme d cas es of
the c oro nav irus, did not follow
the so c ial distanc ing plan,
limite d testing to c once al the
e xte nt o f the s pread, and
mo ve d sic k pe ople into
u nc o nstitu tio nal c onditions of
c o nfine me nt. 23
Be cause o f the e arly and rapid
rate of infe ctio n in L ou is iana,
the fou r fe deral fac ilities in
L ou is iana, w hic h hous e
appro ximately 4, 3 0 0
inc arcerated indiv idu als , qu ic kly
bec ame the first ho tbe ds o f
c o ro nav irus and like ly incre ase d
c o mmu nity spre ad ac ross the
regio n. i

Oakdale Federal
Correctional Institution
O ne of the first c arce ral
fac ilities in the U nite d States to
re ac h a cris is le vel w as O akdale
F ederal C o rre ctional Institutio n
(O akdale) in O akdale , L ou is iana.
Louisiana, had a total population of 4,291.
https://www.bop.gov/about/statistics/population_
statistics.jsp.

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

10

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

24

T he BO P did not respo nd to
staff re quests to s uspend priso n
labo r, prov ide spec ialize d
me dic al te ams, and pro vide
appro priate prote ctiv e ge ar. 25
A nd des pite c onfirme d pos itiv e
c ases , s taff we re expec te d to
c o ntinue to w o rk s o lo ng as
they did not e xhibit s y mpto ms. 26
A s e arly as M arc h 18, staff we re
requesting to re du ce pote ntial
c ross- co ntaminatio n and to not
mo ve betwe en the tw o different
c o rrectio nal fac ilities c omprising
O akdale, a request the warden
de nied. 27 O n M arc h 25 , s ix
inc arcerated me n w ere
hos pitalize d for C O V ID -19 , and
the next day, thre e staff
me mbers tes te d po sitive for the
v irus . 28 That same day, O akdale
establis he d mandatory
te mpe ratu re chec ks for

Justice Department’s inspector
general later reported, after a remote
inspection of Oakdale, that the facility
had “failed to comply with federal
health guidance and left inmates with
the virus in their housing units for a
week without being isolated.”

ii

For more on Mr. Jones and his plans for the
future, see Maurice Chammah, Coronavirus Ended
His Shot at a Second Chance, MARSHALL PROJECT

inc arcerated me n. 29 Just tw o
days later, o n M arc h 28, P atric k
J o nes was the firs t c o nfirme d
and re porte d C O V ID -19 de ath
fo r s o me o ne in fe de ral custo dy. ii
A lthou gh BO P repo rte d after his
de ath that M r. Jo nes had
asthma, his mothe r and close
frie nds disagree d, stating M r.
J o nes did not have asthma o r
any othe r pre-e xisting
c o nditio ns. 30
A rou nd the s ame time pe riod, a
gu ard at O akdale w as admitte d
to intens ive care , thirty pe o ple
w ho w ere inc arcerated at the
fac ility teste d pos itiv e fo r
c o ro nav irus , and at least s ixty
pe ople and an u nknow n nu mbe r
o f staff at O akdale we re in
qu arantine. 31 By M arch 29 , se ve n
staff me mbe rs had c o nfirmed
c ases , and from the re “it just hit
the acce le rato r, and it we nt
fast.”32 T he first de ath o n M arch
28 w as qu ic kly fo llowe d by a
se co nd o n A pril 1, and tw o mo re
de aths o n A pril 2. 33 BO P offic ials
did not put the pris o n o n
loc kdow n u ntil tw o wee ks afte r
the c risis began, tho ugh staff
c o ntinue d to e nte r and e xit the
pris o n w ith o nly sy mpto m
sc re ening, 34 wo rking thirty or
fo rty ho urs straight. 35 By that

(Apr. 3, 2020),
https://www.themarshallproject.org/2020/04/03/c
oronavirus-ended-his-shot-at-a-second-chance.

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

11

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

time , O akdale had bec o me
“grou nd ze ro fo r co ro navirus in
the fe de ral priso n syste m.”36
A s the de ath nu mbe rs climbed,
O akdale te mpo rarily sus pe nded
C O V ID tes ting of inc arcerated
pers o ns ; me anw hile , staff were
dange ro usly o ve rw orke d, w ith
s o me nu rses w orking fo rty -hou r
s hifts . 37 M e n co ntinue d to be
ho use d in cells of s ix, w ith
many of thos e w ho w ere s ic k
no t re move d fro m the ge ne ral
po pu latio n. T hey repo rte d
he aring the infected me n
c ou ghing throu ghou t the
nights. 38 T he Jus tice
D e partme nt’s ins pec to r ge ne ral
late r re porte d, afte r a re mote
inspe ction of O akdale , that the
fac ility had “faile d to co mply
w ith fe de ral he alth guidance
and le ft inmates with the v irus
in the ir hous ing u nits fo r a wee k
w ithout being is olate d.”39

is olatio n ce ll to die ; pe ople
s kippe d wo rk, inclu ding details
inv olving cle aning and
s anitiz ing, ou t of fe ar of
c o ntamination; and s oc ial
distanc ing w as imposs ible. 41 T he
lac k of info rmatio n cause d
c o nfusio n, resulting in a
“scu ffle ” w he n pe o ple assigne d
to ge ne ral population objected
to the return o f pe ople who had
bee n in qu arantine be cause it
had not bee n c o nfirme d by
me dic al pe rs o nne l that there
w as no lo nge r a ris k of
infe ctio n. 42 Staff w ho misse d
mo re than three wo rkdays
w ithout a do ctor’s note we re
referre d to a dis c iplinary board
that routinely doc ke d the ir pay. 43
By A pril 3, fiv e inc arce rated
pers o ns had died of
c o ro nav irus. 44 In the me antime,
staff w ith a te mpe rature of 9 9
de gre es w ere c le ared to co me
into the fac ility to w ork. 45

T hou gh the c ity of O akdale only
has one s mall hos pital, the BO P
did not reac h out to lo cal o r
state go ve rnme nt offic ials to
c o ordinate a res po nse, w hic h
left politic ians and c o mmu nity
me mbers c o nce rne d that the
pris o n c ou ld lead to c o mmu nity
s pre ad. 40 T he inadequate
respo nse from the BO P w re ake d
hav oc within O akdale . Pe ople
did not repo rt the ir sy mpto ms
o ut of fe ar of be ing put in an

A fte r the death of fiv e
inc arcerated pers o ns, the A C L U
o f L ou is iana file d a petitio n for
w rit o f habe as c orpus , as w ell
as inju nc tive and dec larativ e
relie f, on behalf of all
inc arcerated peo ple at O akdale
in L ivas v. M ye rs. 46 A nothe r
pers o n had died by the time the
A C LU filed an e me rge ncy
mo tio n for rele ase of vu lnerable
and low- ris k pe ople o n A pril
13. 47 Tw o days late r, the s eve nth

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

12

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

inc arcerated pers o n at O akdale
died. 48 F ollow ing a visit to
O akdale o n A pril 17 w ith the
C D C and L ou is iana O ffice o f
P ublic H ealth, a BO P
s po kespe rs on c o mme nded the
fac ility for the ir c o mpliance w ith
C D C gu idelines. A ro und this
s ame time, O akdale w as us ing
an 18-w he ele r as a mo bile
mo rgue . 49
W hile the A C LU re ques te d the
rele ase of mo re than 7 00
inc arcerated me n w ho me t the
c rite ria fo r early rele ase or
ho me c o nfine me nt set out by
the BO P, the BO P agree d o nly
to revie w 10 0 indiv idu als unde r
these gu idelines, and ide ntifie d
o nly 58 fo r pote ntial re le ase. 50
T hou gh A tto rney G e ne ral Barr
had iss ue d a me mo randu m
e nc ou raging the rele ase o f
pe ople in the custody of BO P,
the process fo r releas e had
actu ally slowe d dow n at
O akdale after the o nse t of the
pande mic. 51 W arde n M yers did
no t res po nd to any requests fo r
c o mpass io nate releas e betw ee n
M arc h and M ay. 52 E v en thos e
luc ky pe rs o ns des ignate d and
c o nfirme d fo r re leas e w ere not
s afe . F or example , o nly days
befo re he e nte re d a mandato ry
qu arantine to prec ede his
rele ase to ho me c onfinement,
G eo rge E sc amilla was take n to a
loc al ho spital fo r res piratory

failure and teste d pos itiv e fo r
C O V ID -19 . 53 M r. E sc amilla was in
the hos pital for tw o wee ks
befo re his family was e ve n
no tifie d. T hey immediate ly we nt
to the hospital w he re they
w atc he d throu gh a w indow as
M r. E s camilla pass ed away. 54 M r.
E s camilla w as s chedule d to be
rele ase d tw o days be fo re he
died. 55 S oo n afte r L ivas v. M yers
w as file d, the BO P c hange d
the ir policy s o that pe o ple w ho
had serve d half of the ir
se nte nce co uld be c ons ide re d
fo r early rele ase . 56
It w as ultimately the pris o n
e mploye e u nion that fo rc ed a

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

13

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

c hange in leade rship at
O akdale. T he u nio n file d
c o mplaints w ith the
O ccu patio nal S afety and H e alth
A dministratio n in late M ay ,
alleging that Warde n Ro dney
M ye rs faile d to notify the m or
prov ide the m w ith P PE afte r
pe ople inc arce rate d at O akdale
began testing pos itive fo r
c o ro nav irus. 57 W arden M ye rs
w as te mpo rarily reass igne d to a
c entral regio nal office w ithin a
we e k of the c omplaints, and o n
M ay 22, M yers w as re move d
fro m his pos itio n by the BO P. 58
A rou nd the s ame time, the BO P
repo rte d that tes ting w ou ld be
o ffered to eve ry o ne in O akdale
o n a vo lu ntary bas is . 59 T he BO P
had also begun to pro v ide
e mploye es w ith appropriate PP E
and post info rmatio n about
s oc ial distanc ing and goo d
hy giene prac tices throu gho ut
O akdale, but it w as to o little,
to o late: te n pe o ple
inc arcerated at O akdale had
alre ady died. 60

Immigration Detention
Centers Throughout
Louisiana
U nlike those in jails or pris o ns,
the majo rity o f the pe ople
c o nfine d in Immigratio n and
C ustoms E nfo rce me nt (IC E )
c ustody are sus pe cte d of
c o mmitting c ivil v io latio ns o f

At o n e po i nt , 79 w o m e n a s k ed
f o r so a p a nd w er e in st ea d
t r a p p ed in a r o o m a nd
pe pp er - s pr a y ed .

immigratio n law and hav e no
c riminal rec ord, y et the y are
held in jail- like facilities des pite
the ir lack of any c riminal
c o nv ictio n o r c harge. W hile
o the r agenc ies be gan to
respo nd, albeit slow ly and
inade qu ate ly, to the C O V ID -19
pande mic, IC E did nothing. 61
T he re are appro ximately a
do z en fac ilities in Lo u isiana in
w hic h IC E detains no nc itize ns. 62
F ro m F e bruary to O ctober of
20 20 , IC E repo rte d that nearly
9 38 detained immigrants in
L ou is iana had teste d pos itive fo r
C O V ID -19 , with c ases repo rte d
at each of the 13 de te ntio n
fac ilities. A t le ast o ne detained
pers o n had died.
In the first few w ee ks o f the
pande mic, s oc ial distanc ing w as
imposs ible at So uth Lo uis iana
IC E P ro cess ing C e nte r, and no
atte mpts we re made to prov ide
detained peo ple w ith cleaning
su pplies o r PP E . 63 A t o ne po int,
7 9 w o me n as ke d for so ap and
we re ins te ad trapped in a ro o m
and pe ppe r-s praye d. 64 P eppe r

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

14

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

s pray is po te ntially haz ardous. It
c an cause bu rning in the thro at,
w hee z ing, dry c ough, s hortness
o f bre ath, gagging, gasping,
and the inability to bre athe o r
s pe ak. Pe ppe r spray irritates the
we t, mucus -line d parts of the
bo dy , inc luding the lungs, the
main o rgans alre ady unde r
attac k by C O V ID -19 . Pe ppe r
s pray ing a pe rso n who has
C O V ID -19 c ou ld inhibit the
pers o n’s ability to breathe ,
po te ntially killing the m.
M o re o ver, s o me of the possible
c o nse que nc es of peppe r
s pray ing, inc lu ding co ugh and
s ho rtness of bre ath, mirro r the
sy mpto ms of C O V ID -19 94 and
c ou ld po tentially mas k pos itiv e
c ases .
L aSalle S ou thw est C orrec tio ns,
a private pris o n c ompany, holds
a nu mber of c o ntrac ts in o rde r
to de tain no nc itize ns, loc al pre trial detainees , and state
pris o ners . 65 In A pril, at L as alleru n C ataho ula C o rrectio nal
C enter, a nu mbe r o f pe ople who
had exhauste d the ir le gal
o ptio ns re ques te d to spe ak to
IC E about re le ase, inclu ding
requests to be depo rte d s o that
they might esc ape pote ntial
de ath in IC E dete ntion from
C O V ID -19 . 66 In respo nse , gu ards
de ploye d pe pper spray o n 8 3
pe ople and left the m in the
c o ntained ro o m full of peppe r

s pray . 67 G uards als o threw s o me
pe ople into the air or dragge d
the m across the floo r, leav ing
“bloo d ev ery where .”68 T he
pe ople de taine d at C atahou la
we re c o nce rne d by the lac k of
masks , no av ailable dis infectant,
and no c o mmunicatio n fro m
IC E . 69
In additio n, L aSalle fo rbade
e mploye es fro m w earing mas ks
at the be ginning o f the
pande mic. 70 A t one of its
fac ilities, R ichwo o d C o rrectio nal
C enter, pe o ple quic kly began
s ho w ing s ympto ms o f C O V ID -19
befo re the facility ev en began
to res pond. 71 R aú l Lu na
G o nzále z be gan e xhibiting
C O V ID -19 sy mpto ms but w as
no t teste d until his s to ry aire d
o n T ele mu ndo, des pite his
history of c ance r, depe nde ncy
o n a co los to my bag, and the
de ath of tw o fac ility staff due to
C O V ID -19 . 72 Lu na we nt bac k and
fo rth betw ee n the hos pital and
do rms full o f infe cte d pe o ple ,
like ning the dorms to a “N az i
c o nce ntratio n c amp.”73

STATE RUN
FACILITIES
A s the pande mic began to
impac t c arce ral fac ilities ac ross
the c ou ntry, the state o f
L ou is iana initially faile d to

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

15

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

prov ide a plan fo r res po nding to
C O V ID -19 des pite adv oc ates ’
u rgent calls. T he n in A pril,
we e ks after the o nset of the
pande mic in the s tate, the
L ou is iana D e partme nt o f H ealth
(LD H ) issu ed its firs t gu idance
regarding pris o ns, w hich c alle d
fo r de popu latio n, amo ng othe r
actio ns—this gu idanc e w as
mysteriously res cinde d w ithin
ho urs . 74 The LD H has s ince
s hirke d its duties as the state ’s
to p he alth age ncy , le av ing
me dic al de c is io ns so lely in the
hands of u npre pared D O C
o ffic ials. N otably, the H ealth
D e partme nt we bs ite repo rting
state -w ide, parish-by- paris h
data o n C O V ID -19 testing and
infe ctio ns does no t appe ar to
include any data from pris o ns. iii
T his inac curate acc ou nting
makes it diffic ult to ide ntify
w hethe r any c o mmunity s pread
has occ urre d fro m the cases in
pris o ns, and u nde r-c o unts the
o ve rall c ases in L ou is iana.
S ec retary LeB lanc of the D O C
c laime d that the state was
c urbing the s pread w ith
me asu res like canc eling the
ro de o at the L ou is iana State

P enitentiary and sto pping public
tou rs. 75

iii

22125951702, the Health Department reports
zero testing and zero positive cases from February
27, 2020, to November 19, 2020 (the latest date
listed as of December 8). LA. DEP’T OF HEALTH (last
visited Dec. 8, 2020),
https://ldh.la.gov/Coronavirus/.

Data downloaded from the Louisiana Health
Department website, titled “Cases and Testing
Data by Census Tract by Week” does not include
testing and cases that are known to be in prisons.
For example, in West Feliciana Parish, where
LSP/Angola accounts for census tract no.

D es pite a c o nce rning lev el o f
o ve rc row ding eve n be fore the
pande mic, L ou is iana w as c le arly
be hind othe r s tates in creating
an actu al respo nse plan. 76 T he y
belate dly be gan to make plans
that range d fro m cruel and
pu nitive c o nditio ns to pro mis ing
dev elopme nts . U nfo rtunate ly,
the mos t pro mis ing plan, a
R ev ie w P anel to s trate gic ally
rele ase pe ople fro m
inc arceratio n to mitigate the ris k
o f v iral s pread in state priso ns
and paris h jails, was the o ne
that s tate offic ials s pe nt the
leas t e ffort o n. Bec aus e of these
failures , fro m M arc h thro ugh the
beginning o f D e ce mber, 2, 58 6
inc arcerated peo ple and 59 9
D O C e mploy ees w ere infe cte d
w ith C O V ID - 19, and 31
inc arcerated peo ple and 5 staff
had die d. 77
W he n the nu mbe r of c o nfirmed
c ases in D O C fac ilities
e xce eded 2, 0 0 0 in Se pte mber,
P JI note d that the rate of
pos itive C O V ID - 19 c ases was
247 perce nt higher for D O C staff

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

16

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

than it was fo r the rest o f the
state . The D O C pris o n s taff rate
o f death fro m C O V ID -19 w as 20
perce nt higher than the s tate’s
o ve rall de ath C O V ID -19 de ath
rate.

M o rriso n, D O C me dic al direc to r,
annou nce d his departu re in
A pril after only a ye ar of
e mploy me nt w ith the
de partme nt. 78 D r. R andy
L avespere, the me dic al dire ctor
o f A ngola, w as made inte rim
dire ctor, des pite pre v io usly
hav ing had his me dic al lic ens e
sus pe nded and spe nding time in
pris o n fo r “pu rc has ing $ 8, 0 0 0
w o rth of c rystal meth fro m an
informant at a H o me D epot
parking lot.”79

In additio n to failing to create
an ade qu ate plan to res pond to
the pandemic, le aders hip at
D O C w as inc o ns iste nt.
L eade rs hip c hanges du ring a
disaster are alw ays c once rning,
but in both o f thes e s cenarios ,
ess ential pers o nnel we re
replace d w ith s ignific antly lessqu alifie d candidates. D r. J ohn E .
3000

2500

2000

1500

1000

-

500

0
March

April

May

June

July

Incarcerated Infections

August

September

October

Staff Infections

Figure 2: Monthly COVID-19 infections in DOC facilities (data from end of each month)

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

November

17

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0
March

April

May

June

July

Incarcerated Deaths

August

September

October

November

Staff Deaths

Figure 3: Monthly COVID-19 deaths in DOC facilities (data from end of each month)

Louisiana State
Penitentiary
A t the L ou is iana State
P enitentiary (L SP), co mmo nly
referre d to as A ngola,
inc arcerated peo ple faced
inc reas ed ris k of infectio n (1)
bec ause of the State ’s plan to
trans fer anyo ne w ho teste d
pos itive across L ou is iana to
iv

In 2015, PJI filed suit on behalf of the over 6,000
incarcerated men at LSP to challenge the
constitutionally inadequate medical care provided
there. Although a federal judge indicated that prepandemic medical care at LSP was
unconstitutional, no opinion has yet been entered

C amp J , a close d down
disc iplinary fac ility at LS P, and
(2) be cause o f the ongo ing
abysmal and unc ons titutional
me dic al c are pre ce ding the
pande mic c ompared to othe r
pris o ns. iv Pe o ple incarce rate d at
L SP repo rte d dire co nditions in
do rms that ho ld ove r 8 0 pe ople
in c lose qu arte rs. In the first few
we e ks of M arc h, o ne
in the case.
https://promiseofjustice.org/2020/03/31/pji-filesfor-temporary-restraining-order-to-preventtransfer-of-sick-people-to-notorious-angolaprison/

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

18

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

inc arcerated man at A ngola
w rote to P JI s ay ing, “we are
be ing told to ‘s o cially distance ’
o u rselves bu t are pac ke d into
these do rmitories like s ardines.”
T he inev itable first co nfirme d
c ase at LS P c ame on M arc h 28. 80
A s mo re peo ple bec ame sic k in
the follo wing days, pris on staff
c laime d it w as the flu and
refused to test the many pe o ple
w ho w ere v is ibly ill. When the re
we re no atte mpts at mitigation
me asu res o r s oc ial dis tanc ing,
pe ople re ported buy ing fo od
fro m the c o mmissary to av o id
go ing to the cafete ria, which
c aus ed the c ommiss ary to run
o ut of foo d.
E arly o n, LS P w as not equ ippe d
w ith dis infe ctant w ipes o r
v entilators. F acility o ffic ials
c o ntinue d to require the men to
w o rk in the fie lds w ith no s oc ial
distanc ing prac tices o r o the r
s afe ty me asu res . There w as an
o ve rall lac k of prev entative
me asu res be ing take n by staff
and w ithin the fac ility , causing
o ne man to des cribe all o f the
me n at A ngola as “sitting du c ks”
fo r the v irus . W he n there w ere
pos itive test results, do rms at
arou nd 17 0 perce nt c apac ity
we re put o n loc kdow n, making
s oc ial distanc ing imposs ible and
almost ens uring that entire
do rms were e xpos ed to C O V ID -

19. A man inc arc erate d at
A ngo la w ro te to PJ I abou t w hat
he expe rie nce d du ring these
loc kdow ns in a letter:
“A fe w wee ks p ass ed b efore we
we re all loc ke d do wn in
qu arantine and our move ments
g re atly res tricted. It was s everal
we e ks late r fro m the start b efo re
the DO C gave us mas ks to wear
and starte d chec king our
te mp e rature twic e a day. A ll
du ring this time various inmates
fro m o ther dorms came do wn
with the virus . S imultaneous ly
s everal s ecu rity guards
c ontracted the virus e ls ewhere
and introduc e d it to the inmate
p opu lation at C amp F . […]
M e anwhile, we are made to
suffer. P ers onally, I am afraid my
musc les may never re cover fro m
inactivity. I’m g etting be d s ores in
a c ertain sp ot from sitting up
re ading for lack of anything e ls e
to do . The no is e in my dorm is
so me times de afe ning and I’m
forc ed to we ar earp lugs or g o
craz y. We have no ide a ho w long
we will be locke d up in is olatio n

“W e ar e b ei ng t o l d t o ‘s o ci al l y
di s t a nc e ’ o u r s el v es bu t ar e
p ac ke d i nt o t h es e do r mi t o r i es
l i k e s ar d i n es . ”

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

19

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

o r have to suffer the indignity of
not g etting paid anything and
b e ing co nside red a s lave.”
P ris on guards re po rtedly to ld
inc arcerated peo ple that they
we re orde ring plenty o f bo dy
bags. A few wee ks late r, pris o n
gu ards to ld a line o f pe o ple that
the pris on had a ro om full of
bo dy bags stac ked flo o r to
c eiling. S o me c ou ld see the
c o nstruc tio n o f a tent outs ide
and ru mo rs sw irle d that it was
to hold all the de ad bo dies.
U nsu rpris ingly, incarc erate d
pe ople re ac he d ou t to the ir
lo ve d ones to have wills made

and prov ide info rmatio n abo ut
ho w the y w ante d the ir affairs
handle d if they w ere to die fro m
C O V ID -19 . 81 O ne pe rso n w ho
w as forme rly on de ath ro w told
P JI that he felt as thou gh his
“death se nte nc e has bee n
re ins tated” as he watched
pe ople aro und him fall ill, o ne
by o ne.
T he stress was v is ibly getting to
staff. In o ne instance , ac co rding
to pe o ple ins ide the fac ility ,
pris o n gu ards res ponde d to
pe ople with se vere me ntal
illnesses by peppe r s pray ing
the m multiple times a day to

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

20

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

sto p the sc re aming.
A dditio nally, pe o ple w ould be
rele ase d to the rec re atio n y ard
o nly to find that qu arantine d
do rms with pe ople rec ently
e xpose d to c o ronav irus we re
als o o n the y ard. Staff
repo rte dly pu nished peo ple w ho
trie d to pre ve nt expos ed pe ople
fro m e ntering the ir dorms by
se nding them to qu arantine.
O ne man at L SP repo rte d that
he was w ritte n up fo r holding a
do o r close d to pre ve nt pe o ple
fro m e ntering a qu arantined
area.

P r iso n g u a r d s r es po nd ed t o
peo pl e w it h s ev er e m e nt a l
il l ne ss e s b y p epp e r sp r a y in g
t h em m u l t i pl e t i m e s a d a y t o
st o p t h e sc r ea m in g .

T he me dic al c are prov ide d to
those with sy mpto ms indic ated
that the pris o n w as in de nial
abou t the spre ad and sev erity of
C O V ID -19 . O ne pe rso n fe ll sic k
arou nd M arc h 1, began to
su bmit s ick c alls o n A pril 1, and
repo rte d six medic al
e me rge nc ies be twee n A pril 1
and A pril 23. E ac h time, medical
staff to o k his blo o d pressure
and te mperatu re , but they

igno red his re po rts o f difficu lty
bre athing and eating, and
regular v o miting. H e did not e at
fo r at le ast a we ek in A pril. H e
lost te n to fiftee n pou nds in
u nde r tw o mo nths. T his entire
time , he remaine d in his
do rmitory w ith no re gu lar care
fro m me dic al staff and in close
pro ximity to o ther peo ple.
T hose arou nd him to ok c are o f
him, bringing him E ns ure to
kee p him fro m starving. H e
bo ught V ic k’s vapor rub fro m
the c o mmiss ary, and s o me o ne
brou ght him A lka S eltze r and
c old medic ine. H e e ve n trie d
e ating garlic and s weating ou t
the v irus. H e saw a doctor after
repeate d adv oc acy from his
s iste r, but the docto r o nly
talke d to him and pe rfo rme d no
physical examination.
T hankfully , he re c ove re d fro m
the v irus.
T imes of despe ration
de monstrate d the res ilie nc e and
c ollec tive s olidarity o f pe ople
inc arcerated at LS P. When the
authorities failed to take
me aningfu l steps , s o me peo ple
inc arcerated at LS P du bbe d
the mse lves the “C O V ID polic e.”82
T he y trie d to dis infect as many
su rfac es as the y co uld,
stretching out the ir me ager
su pplies as muc h as poss ible. 83
Inc arce rate d pe ople began to
o rganize jus t to make su re s o ap

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

21

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

w as av ailable fo r handw ashing:
T he y distribu ted the so ap the y
had, c o o rdinate d su pplies
amo ng areas of the pris o n by
buy ing, bartering, and trading,
and ultimate ly put a bar o f s o ap
by eve ry fauc et. O nce they had
s oap, e ve ry one w as was hing
the ir hands until they ran out.
T he y o rganiz ed to make as
many masks as the y c ou ld. T hey
tu rne d the gy m into a mas k
o peration, making mas ks ou t of
fou r laye rs of c otto n. W hile
pris o n offic ials had no regard
fo r the lives o f those at L SP ,
those inc arce rate d the re figu red
o ut w ays to try to slow the

s pre ad w ithou t any su ppo rt
fro m the adminis tratio n.
L SP staff w ere limiting me dical
c are and only testing those with
se ve re s y mpto ms o f C O V ID -19,
partic ularly high fe ve rs. 84
M o nths into the pande mic , LS P
had 5, 50 0 c o ro nav irus tests
av ailable bu t only tested a few
hu ndre d pe o ple . 85 To date, L SP
has still not engaged in mass
tes ting des pite having
thous ands o f tests available and
a docu me nted plan for mass
tes ting as e arly as mid-A pril. 86
H owe ve r, they did cho ose to
c o nduct mo re than 1, 0 0 0 tests
o f staff by late J une, resulting in
a 19 pe rce nt pos itive rate . 87 N ot
o nly did offic ials c ho ose to
re main igno rant abou t the
s pre ad o f the pandemic by not
tes ting inc arce rate d me n, but
they als o appe are d to be
ratio ning medical c are.
P eo ple w ere no t be ing taken to
se e do ctors or nurs es bec aus e
staff w ith no medical
e xperie nce w ere sc re ening fo r
me dic al interve ntio n. 88 In the
first c ase that w ould end in
de ath, Jo hn “C ap” C antrello kept
c alling for help. Staff to o k his
te mpe ratu re three times and,
des pite his v is ible
hy perve ntilating and s erious
u nde rly ing me dical co nditions ,
he was no t take n to see a

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

22

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

do ctor bec ause his feve r
re maine d unde r 10 0 degre es. 89
H e died days afte r be ing take n
to O u r Lady o f the L ake
H ospital. 90 T he ne xt man to die
at LS P, L lo yd M eye rs, had
trouble bre athing, e ating, and
mo v ing, but w as refuse d
me dic al c are bec ause his feve r
w as not high e nou gh. 91 H e died
w ithin a day of be ing mo ve d to
a hospital. 92 F u rther, it is uncle ar
that the sc re enings we re ev en
taking ac cu rate te mperatu res ;
s o me pe o ple repo rte d the y had
re adings as low as 9 3 o r 94
de gre es, w hich, if ac curate,
w ou ld mean they nee ded
e me rge ncy treatme nt fo r
hy po thermia. 93 While fe vers
have be en identifie d as o ne o f
the primary sy mpto ms of
C O V ID -19 , a large propo rtio n o f
C O V ID -19 patients re qu iring
hos pitaliz atio n do not e xhibit
feve rs o f 10 0 o r gre ate r
de gre es, making these
sc re enings ineffective. 94
Inc arce rate d pe ople w ho
e xpress ed c o nce rn abou t thes e
po lic ies expe rie nce d re taliato ry
w rite -ups and place me nt in
loc kdow n.
A t least fou r o f the twe lv e
pe ople who die d o f C O V ID -19 o r
relate d c o mplicatio ns at L SP by
the e nd of Ju ne were initially
de nied me dic al care bec ause
the ir sy mpto ms w ere not s eve re

e nou gh by the pris on’s
standards . 95 A P roPu blic a
inves tigatio n fou nd that pe o ple
repo rting c ou ghs , ac hes ,
fatigue , chest pains , and
sto mac h pains, and pe o ple w ho
pass ed o ut at the height o f the
first wave in L SP , w ere no t
tre ate d for C O V ID -19 . 96 The y
we re told they w ere de hy drate d
o r had gas. 97 S ic k me n w ere left
in the ir dormito ries to rec ove r,
patients we re retu rned to
qu arantined are as, and s taff
c o ntinue d to mo ve free ly
amo ng different areas of the
pris o n. 98
F o r those w ho had u nderly ing
he alth iss ues, w hic h includes a
dispropo rtio nate nu mbe r o f
pe ople among inc arce rate d
po pu latio ns, C O V ID -19 mo ve d
qu ic kly and was often deadly.
F o r example, Ro be rt T ass in Jr.
w as hospitaliz ed o n M ay 6 afte r
e xperie ncing res piratory
distress. M r. T ass in already had
late -stage thy ro id c ance r and
c hro nic obstru ctiv e pulmo nary
diseas e (C O PD ) and was in the
proc ess of atte mpting to obtain
me dic al re le ase to live his
re maining days outs ide pris o n.
U nfo rtu nately, o n M ay 11, the
day befo re his s ixty-third
birthday, he pass ed away after
tes ting pos itive fo r C O V ID -19.

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

23

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

M ic hael W illiams, a man
inc arcerated at LS P, passe d
away fro m C O V ID -19 o n M ay 9,
20 20 , at the age o f 7 0. W he n
M ic hael and his s iste r Te rry
talke d o n M ay 3 , s he c ould tell
that he s ou nde d strange. T he
ne xt night, a friend o f M ic hael’s
c alle d Te rry to tell he r that he
w as s ick. G ive n his sy mpto ms ,
M ic hael was put into is olatio n
fo r mu ltiple days . Yet, w he n he
w as o n the pho ne w ith his s o n
Kev in, he to ld Kev in that he w as
no t be ing tre ate d. Ke v in

re me mbered his dad s ay ing,
“S o n, I’m go ing to die in he re.”
M ic hael’s family and lawye r,
A llys o n B ille au d, c alled the
fac ility re pe ate dly as king for
M ic hael to be mov ed to the
hos pital, but they we re told that
he did not have C O V ID -19 . By
the time that M ichae l w as
trans ferre d to a hospital on M ay
7 , he was in c ritic al c o nditio n.
H e tragic ally los t his life to the
v irus tw o days late r. 99

500
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
April

May

June

July

Incarcerated Infections

August

September

October

Staff Infections

Figure 4: COVID-19 Infections at Angola (data from end of each month)

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

November

24

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

W he n transfe rs amo ng fac ilities
resu me d, the re we re challe nges
figu ring ou t how to iso late
pe ople ne wly arrive d at the
pris o n. In late Ju ly , a pe rso n
w ho arriv ed at LS P w as plac ed
in an u nknow n dis ciplinary
area—not C amp J—bec aus e he
had a fe ve r. H e was told it w as
bec ause he had C O V ID -19 , bu t
he teste d negativ e. F or three
days, he w as he ld in a s ingle
c ell w ith he av y bars and grates
o n the do or. T he grates ke pt o ut
any bree ze fro m the hallway
fan, making it “hot as hell.” H e
w as not giv en a s hee t or a
s ho we r. When he was taken to
se e a docto r, he w as made to
w alk in ankle s hac kles despite
his pre-e xisting limp. H e w as
the n take n to C amp J ev en
thou gh he had not tes te d
pos itive.

Louisiana Correctional
Institute for Women
T he 1, 6 0 0 inc arce rated w o me n
in L o uis iana C orre ctional

v

Louisiana has not had a dedicated women’s
prison since the Louisiana Correctional Institute
for Women (LCIW) flooded in 2016. Emma Discher,
Louisiana Women’s Prison Finds Flood Recovery a
Slow, Difficult Road, THE ADVOCATE (Feb. 3, 2017),
https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/
crime_police/article_0c550bea-e8d7-11e6-91826fcb99933532.html; Lea Skene, After Louisiana
Women’s Prison Flooded in 2016, Temporary Dorms
Inundated with Coronavirus, THE ADVOCATE (June 7,

Institute for W o me n (LC IW) are
s plit be twee n loc al jails,
trans itio nal pro grams, and tw o
pris o n bu ildings re pu rpos ed
fro m the ir prev ious roles
ho us ing men and childre n—a
bu ilding at the E lay n H unt
C o rrectional C enter in St.
G abrie l (LC IW-H unt) and the
fo rme r Je tso n C e nte r for Y ou th
in B ake r (LC IW- Bake r). v L o ng
befo re the nove l co ronavirus
bec ame a c o nce rn, the LC IW
w arde n warne d that the “w o me n
[we re ] lite rally liv ing o n to p o f
o ne ano ther, ” e xce eding de nsity
acc re ditatio n standards s et by
the A me rican C orre ctio nal
A ss oc iation. 100 D o rms held up to
8 0 w o me n e ac h w ith be ds two
feet apart. 101 Lo u isiana’s first
mass testing in an inc arce rate d
setting was c o ndu cte d in e arly
Ju ne at the tw o w omen’s
pris o ns, re ve aling a w ides pre ad
o utbreak.
G loria Williams, affe ctionate ly
know n as “M ama G lo” and
L ou is iana’s longest- incarc erate d
2020),
https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/
coronavirus/article_ed45ea90-a696-11ea-a89d8b66acee5f8f.html; Grace Toohey, ‘Temporary Has
Become Permanent’ for Displaced Inmates of
Flooded Louisiana Women’s Prison, THE ADVOCATE
(Apr. 20, 2019),
https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/
crime_police/article_0fcebfb8-5d6b-11e9-bac5f7b4ee1d77f0.html.

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

25

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

w o man, w as hos pitaliz ed w ith
C O V ID -19 on A pril 18. 102 S he w as
7 3 at the time and had rec ently
bee n re co mme nde d fo r
c le me ncy by the state B o ard o f
P ardo ns and P aro le. 103 T he n, on
A pril 22, a w o man name d
D orothy L aV era P ierre died at
the age of 6 0 in O ur L ady of the
L ake R egional M e dical C e nte r
w hile s he was incarc erate d at
H u nt. 104 D orothy w as the third
inc arcerated pers o n to die of
C O V ID -19 in Lo uis iana, 105 and
s he had bee n s chedule d for a
he aring w ith the Lo uis iana
B o ard o f Pardo ns and P aro le o n
M ay 18—less than a mo nth after
he r de ath. 106 A t the time of he r
de ath, 97 incarce rate d wo me n
had tested pos itiv e fo r C O V ID 19 in Lo u isiana, inc lu ding 42 in a
s ingle day—making LC IW the
s ou rce of the most c onfirme d
c ases of C O V ID - 19 in the
L ou is iana D O C system, des pite
its re lative ly s mall s ize . 107 M ore
than half o f the w o me n w ho
tes te d positive e xhibite d
sy mpto ms. 108
A fte r the high- pro file
hos pitaliz atio n and de ath at a
s ingle fac ility in the c ou rse o f a
we e k, and w ith pos itiv e tests
s piraling out o f co ntrol, the D O C
initiated mass tes ting at LC IW.
In a press c o nfe re nce on M ay 5 ,
the D O C spo kes pe rs on repo rte d
that 19 2 of the arou nd 19 5

Gloria “Mama Glo” Williams

w o me n house d at H u nt had
tes te d positive , as w ell as 41
staff o n the do rm. 109 A t the time ,
D O C ’s po licy o f o nly tes ting
sy mpto matic pe ople had
y ie lded only 299 pos itiv e tests
amo ng inc arce rated pe ople
state wide , 6 4% of the m amo ng
w o me n. 110 O ffic ials firs t
c o nducted mass tes ting in the
fe male dorms at H u nt, finding
8 7 pe rce nt of abo ut 20 0 wo men
we re infec te d. 111 T he n the y
tes te d e ve ry one at Jets o n as
we ll, w hic h re ve ale d that about
6 2 pe rc ent of almos t 30 0
w o me n w ere infe cte d. 112 M any o f
the C O V ID -19 c ases c aptured by

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

26

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

the mass testing pro gram were
asy mpto matic . 113

c le me ncy , s he is s till
inc arcerated.

Ins ide H unt and Jets o n, o ffic ials
had wo men sle ep head-to- fo ot
to try and “inc re ase the ir
bre athing zo ne .”114 In early J une,
T he A dvo cate re porte d that
w o me n w ere be ing se parate d
into s ic k and he althy “c o ho rts ”
w ithin the do rms. 115 T he wo men’s
fac ilities did not have the
c apac ity for me dical is olatio n or
individu al c ells . 116 F u rther,
acc o rding to re ports fro m those
inside , J ets on do es not have
any o n-s ite me dic al fac ilities
and had to transpo rt any
inc arcerated w o man exhibiting
sy mpto ms to anothe r lo catio n,
inc reas ing the ris k of exposu re
to othe rs and c o mmu nity
s pre ad. A s o f e arly D ec embe r,
the w omen at H unt we re
repo rting that, as a result of a
large outbreak of C O V ID - 19
amo ng the me n held at the
fac ility, staff had bee n almost
e ntirely ne gle cting the w o me n,
including se rv ing fo o d hours
late , for wee ks .

In e arly M ay, a se co nd w o man
died at H unt. S he was 47 ye ars
o ld and w as se ntence d to
tw enty ye ars for tw o c ou nts o f
drug possess io n, e nhance d
u nde r “habitu al offende r” laws . 118
N otably , w hile the me n w ho
died of C O V ID -19 at L SP we re
betw een the ages of 63 and 84,
the w omen we re y ou nger—age d
6 0 and 47 . 119 A s of e arly
D e ce mber, re po rtedly no ne of
the 18 2 c ases o f C O V ID -19
amo ng w o me n at Jets o n has
e nde d in de ath. 120

M e anw hile, M ama G lo, who had
bee n plac ed on a respirator in
inte ns ive c are, w as trans fe rre d
back into H u nt on M ay 9 . 117 She
w as plac ed bac k in a large,
c row ded do rm with betwe en 7 0
and 8 0 othe r wo men. D es pite
be ing re c ommende d for

Office of Juvenile Justice
Facilities

… o nl y 3 0 c hil d r e n ha d b e en
t e st ed f o r C O VI D - 1 9, a nd 2 8 o f
t ho s e ha d t est e d po s i t i v e

S inc e the beginning o f the
pande mic, L ou is iana’s O ffice o f
Ju ve nile Justice (O JJ) has had
three diffe re nt directo rs. A s
ste ady le aders hip thro ughout a
c ris is is v ital to e nsu ring the
c o nfide nce of the res pons e,
these ro tating de puty
se cretaries are a s ou rce o f
c o nce rn. T he first de puty

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

27

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

se cretary w as J ames Bue che,
w ho had w orke d w ithin the D O C
fo r almost 17 ye ars . 121 O n M arc h
25 , the G ov ernor name d E dward
D ustin (D usty) B ickham as the
inte rim D e puty Sec retary afte r
Bu ec he abruptly resigne d. 122 O n
A u gus t 7 , the G o verno r
annou nce d that W illiam (B ill)
S o mme rs wo uld be taking ove r
the pos ition on Septe mber 7 . 123
O J J vio pe rates four y outh
dete ntio n ce nte rs, know n as
se cu re- care fac ilities, which
c ollec tive ly c onfine

appro ximately 220 c hildren. O JJ
o ffic ials co nfine d the
appro ximately 220 c hildren to
the ir dorms for 23 hou rs a day in
respo nse to the pande mic. 124
T he y als o c ancelle d all
v is itatio n and programming,
including sc ho ol. 125 T he c hildren
we re le ft o nly able to c o ntact
the ir pare nts throu gh pho ne
c alls, if they c ould afford to pay
fo r the c all, and O JJ atte mpted
to pro v ide o ne fiftee n- minute
z o o m v ide o call a wee k. In
desc ribing the impact this had
o n he r s o n, o ne mo ther said, “he

100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
April

May

June

July

August

September

Incarcerated Youth Infections

October

November

Staff Infections

Figure 5: Total Number of COVID-19 Cases Among Children as Reported by OJJvi
vi

Data was compiled by PJI using data from the
OJJ website. OJJ COVID-19 Information, OFFICE OF

JUVENILE JUSTICE, https://ojj.la.gov/ojj-covid-19information/ (last visited Dec. 8, 2020).

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

28

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

go t very de presse d and
w ithdraw n fro m eve ry body. It’s
frus trating to me ’c ause that’s
no t how he w as.”126

“T h ey do n’ t ca r e. I t ’s n o t l i k e
I ’ m a s t r an g er o r ju s t a f r i e n d
wa nt i n g t o g et i n f o rm at i o n. I ’ m
hi s mo t h er. ”

O n M ay 14, 20 20 , the Pro mise o f
Jus tice Initiative , Ju ve nile L aw
C enter, the L aw O ffice of Jo hn
A dc oc k, and the inte rnatio nal
law firm O ’M elve ny & M ye rs
file d a civ il rights su it in federal
c ou rt o n behalf of the c hildre n,
ranging in ages fro m 10 to 21,
w ho w ere inc arcerated in O JJ ’s
fou r secu re -c are fac ilities. 127 O n
the day the lawsu it was filed,
o nly 3 0 c hildre n had bee n
tes te d fo r C O V ID - 19, and 28 of
those had te ste d positive . 128 In
addition, 41 s taff me mbers had
tes te d positive , indicating that
the true numbe r o f pos itive
c ases amo ng the c hildre n w as
like ly muc h highe r des pite a
lac k of testing due to the high
rate of staff infe ction. 129 O ne
mo ther s aid “T he s taff are
c o ming bac k and fo rth into the
fac ility and my so n is sc are d of
getting s ic k. I am w orrie d abo ut

my so n’s s afety and w ellbe ing.”130
O n July 3, 20 20, the fe de ral
judge re jec ted the c hildren’s
request to fu rlou gh the m o r
s afe ly re le ase them if they we re
c los e to the end o f the ir
se nte nce. 131 A lthou gh sc ho ol
instructio n had resu me d o n
Ju ne 6 , c hildre n’s pare nts and
adv oc ates re mained c o nce rne d
abou t a lack of testing and
limite d c o mmunicatio n abo ut
the ir child’s he alth or w ith the ir
c hildre n dire ctly. 132 A fter not
be ing told abou t he r s o n going
to the hospital fo r a kidney
issue and be ing qu arantined,
o ne mothe r s aid, “I feel
helpless. N o bo dy eve r has
ans wers . Y our c hild is jus t
anothe r nu mbe r. Y ou s it the re
fo r days o n end, s ic k to y ou r
sto mac h, not know ing. It’s a
w aiting game. It’s a ho rrible,
ho rrible fee ling. T hey do n’t care .
It’s no t like I’m a stranger o r just
a frie nd w anting to get
information. I’m his mo ther.”133
A s o f D ece mbe r 8, 20 20, O JJ
repo rts that 3 6 y ou th and 86
staff have tes ted pos itive for
C O V ID -19 . 134 T he
dispropo rtio nate nu mbe r o f staff
tes ting pos itive c o mpare d to the
y outh indic ates that O JJ is still
no t imple me nting w idespre ad
tes ting o f y ou th in the ir c are.

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

29

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

F urther, the increas e in yo uthpos itive c ases betwee n A ugust
and O cto be r w ere all attribu ted
to the A cadiana C e nte r,
indic ating that this may be the
o nly fac ility c o nducting any kind
o f testing.
N o state priso n was le ft
u ntou ched by the v irus. T hou gh
we may ne ve r kno w the e xte nt
o f the pain and s uffering pe ople
e xperie nced in L ou is iana
pris o ns du ring the pande mic,
inc arcerated peo ple, adv o cates,
and journalists we re able to
e xpose s o me o f the e xpe rie nc es
o f peo ple in state pris o n.
F o r example, D ixo n C o rrec tio nal
Institute , the only s tate pris o n
w ith the capac ity for tre ating
dialys is patie nts, had the ir firs t
c o nfirme d pos itive c ases at the
beginning o f A pril w ith thos e
inside repo rting they we re
“dro pping like flies.” A t leas t
three o f the first pe o ple to ge t
s ic k we re take n to the infirmary
in w hee lc hairs , give n Ibuprofe n,
and re tu rne d to the ir dorms
w ithout being qu arantined or
s oc ially distance d u ntil the next
day. O ffic ials did no t start mass
tes ting until late A ugust, at the
s ame time the fac ility had its
first death. 135 O f the 6 0 0 men
tes te d, 3 31 teste d pos itiv e and
3 0 3 o f those we re
asy mpto matic . 136 In S epte mbe r,

194
P eo pl e t est e d po s i t i v e
o u t o f t h e 4 6 0 t est e d
at Elayn Hunt
C o r r ec t io na l C en t er

D ixo n had 61 dialys is patients,
w ho are at incre ase d ris k o f
C O V ID -19 due to the ir kidney
failure . The ir family me mbers ,
faith le aders , and me dical
profess io nals we re pu blic ly and
privately pushing state and
fac ility o ffic ials to se nd these
me n o n me dic al furlo ugh to a
pro per me dic al fac ility fo r care
o r to re le ase them. The state
respo nde d by te mpo rarily
mo v ing s ome of the dialys is
patients to E lay n H unt
C o rrectional C enter.
A large C O V ID -19 o utbre ak was
repo rte d among the me n
inc arcerated at E layn H u nt
C o rrectional C enter in
N ov e mbe r 20 20. A s o f
D e ce mber 3 , the re we re 81
c urre nt pos itiv e c ases and a
total o f 194 pe ople had tes ted
pos itive o ut of the 46 0 w ho had

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

30

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

bee n teste d. T he re we re tw o
repo rte d C O V ID - 19 de aths at
the fac ility. It was als o re ported
that the outbreak had affec te d
the fac ility’s hos pital o rde rlies ,
and inc arce rate d me n we re
be ing thre atene d w ith
pu nis hme nt if they did not wo rk
in the S kille d N urs ing U nit—with
no training at all—to fill in fo r
the s ic k s taff.
F o r info rmatio n abo ut
dev elopme nts in othe r state
fac ilities, see App e ndix A.

LOCAL FACILITIES
W he n the pande mic began,
e xperts qu ic kly ide ntifie d jails
as s ites that co uld pote ntially
e xplode the le vel of infectio n in
a co mmu nity . O f all types of
c arce ral institutio ns , jails are
u niquely pos itio ne d to spre ad
infe ctio n bec ause o f the ir high
rate of “c hu rn, ” w he re peo ple
are bo o ke d and release d in
s ho rt time pe riods . 137 Sheriffs ’
respo nses to C O V ID -19 varie d
dramatic ally ac ross the state.
W he n the State ’s H ealth E qu ity
T as k F orce re qu este d data fro m
s he riffs across the s tate, only 6
o f 64 parishes res po nde d to this
c all. 138 T his low respo nse is
partic ularly co ncerning give n
that 13, 48 5 me n and w o me n
se nte nced to s tate pris o n time

se rv e the ir s entences in loc al
parish jails and pris o ns. T he
loc al fac ilities were e xc lu de d
fro m all state repo rting. 139

W he n t h e S t a t e’ s H e a l t h E q u i t y
T a sk F o r c e r eq u e st ed d a t a
f ro m s h er if f s a c r o s s t he st a t e ,
o nl y 6 o f 6 4 pa r i sh e s
re spo nd e d t o t h is c a l l .

Orleans Parish Prison
G ive n the qu ic k s pre ad of
c o ro nav irus in N ew O rle ans, it is
u nsu rpris ing multiple pe ople
detained in the O rle ans P arish
P ris on (O PP) tes ted pos itive by
M arc h 23. O P P offic ials did not
make this pu blic; inste ad, the
information bec ame pu blic
w he n detaine d pe ople
c o ntacted adv o cates fro m the
O rleans P aris h Pris o n Refo rm
C o alitio n. By late A pril, 9 7
individu als at O PP had teste d
pos itive , w ith hu ndreds of o ther
tes ts aw aiting res ults . 140 In a rare
e xample of proactiv e dec is io nmaking, the O rleans P aris h
S heriff’s A dministration dec ided
to imple ment mass testing at
O PP and e xpre ssly c ho se not to
se nd pe ople de taine d in O P P to
C amp J , c laiming those infecte d

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

31

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

in O PP we re be ing e ffe ctiv ely
qu arantined. 141 H owe ve r,
prose cutors objected to
atte mpts to rectify the s ituatio n
by re fus ing atte mpts to redu ce
bo nd, argu ing that rele as ing
inc arcerated indiv idu als w ould
ris k spre ading c oro nav irus to
the general public. 142
H owe ve r, jail offic ials s till faile d
to take su ffic ie nt me asu res to
c o ntro l the v irus in O PP. In early
A pril, so me detained peo ple
had no access to mas ks or s oap.
P eo ple detained the re we re
bec o ming so c o nce rne d that
they c o nte mplate d a hunge r
strike. A s o f A pril 16, 3 26 o ut o f
8 0 3 pe o ple detaine d in O P P had
bee n teste d for c o ro nav irus,
w ith abo ut 3 0% testing pos itive.
P eo ple w ho exhibited se vere
sy mpto ms w ere take n out of the
jail to a hospital. By late A pril
tw o e mployees had die d, and
o ve r 7 0 e mploy ees had tes te d
pos itive. 143 In early M ay, a
detained pers o n re ported that a
do rm full of pe ople re co ve ring
fro m C O V ID -19 had no glo ves ,
ble ac h, or hand s anitiz ers and
o nly had mas ks that were w ee ks
o ld.

me asu res that the S he riff’s
D e partme nt c hose to re duce the
inc arcerated po pulatio n w ere
u nde rmine d by the N ew O rle ans
P o lice D epartme nt 145 and D istrict
A tto rney ’s O ffice , w ho
c o ntinue d to arrest and
prose cute peo ple as if it we re
bus iness as usu al. 146 P rosec utors
c hastise d pu blic defe nde rs fo r
try ing to “e xplo it” the pandemic
to ge t the ir clie nts re le ase d
fro m custody, w ith the
s po kespe rs on fo r the D istrict
A tto rney ’s O ffice stating the
pande mic was no t “a time to
e nc ou rage law less ness.”147
H owe ve r, the Sheriff’s
D e partme nt c o mplie d w ith
rele ase orde rs and jo ined public
defende rs in as king ju dges to
inc reas e the nu mber of pe o ple
be ing re le ase d fro m O PP , 148
c utting the jail po pu latio n by a
qu arter. 149 Thou gh the c ou rts
o rde re d a limite d nu mber of

E ve n be fo re the v irus like ly
re ac he d the jail, public
defende rs calle d for the re le ase
o f peo ple detained in the jail o n
no n-v iole nt offens es. 144 A ny

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

32

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

pe ople re le ased, a signific ant
po rtio n of the inc arce rate d
po pu latio n detaine d pretrial had
no rec ou rse bec ause there w ere
no trials be ing held, bo nds had
no t bee n set, or they had a
parole ho ld. 150 E ve n when
pe ople might have bee n e ligible
fo r re leas e, the re w as c onfus ion
o ve r habe as juris diction and
delays in mandato ry hearings . 151

individu als w ith co ro nav irus . 156
F E M A and the s he riff’s office
gave c onflic ting dates o n when
the reno vatio ns are pro jected to
be finis he d, w ith S heriff G us man
re maining s ile nt o n whethe r the
project w ould re place large rsc ale e ffo rts to reduce the jail
po pu latio n by cu rbing arres ts
fo r mino r o ffe nses . 157

A fte r an initial dec line of the
v irus , O PP e xperie nc ed a s pike
in late M ay, w ith 94 c onfirme d
c ases repo rte d o n M ay 20. 152
T hou gh Sheriff M arlin G us man
repo rte d o n Ju ne 18 that O PP
had taken me asures to
e radic ate c o ronav irus amo ng
the incarc erate d indiv iduals and
staff, 153 C hristian F ree man, w ho
w as detaine d fo r c harges
relate d to his e xperience with
su bstance abuse , die d s udde nly
after c ollaps ing at the fac ility o n
Ju ne 25. 154 D u ring the auto psy, it
w as co nfirme d that he w as
pos itive for c o ro nav irus. 155
D es pite the poss ibility o f futu re
w av es, o n July 31, O P P s hippe d
e ighty- o ne peo ple to o the r
fac ilities aro und the state.

East Baton Rouge Parish
Prison

In late A u gust, Sheriff M arlin
G us man qu ie tly rele ase d a plan
to s pe nd $ 9.3 millio n, inclu ding
$7 millio n of F E M A funds , to
re no vate a v ac ate d jail bu ilding
to house inc arcerated

In mid- M arch, E as t B ato n R ouge
P arish S he riff S id G autre au x s aid
the re we re no cas es of
c o ro nav irus in the pris o n, but
admitted that o ne cas e ins ide
the fac ility co uld rapidly
s pre ad. 158 S hortly thereafte r, in
late M arc h, the pris on had its
first c onfirme d c ase, leading
pris o n offic ials to mo ve 94
inc arcerated peo ple into
qu arantine. 159 A cc o rding to
repo rts fro m ins ide the fac ility ,
at firs t no one co uld get a
C O V ID -19 tes t u nless they had a
feve r o f 10 0 .4 de grees. A ro und
A pril 9, hos pital staff extende d
tes ts to ev eryo ne dis play ing
sy mpto ms, which w as still a
limite d appro ac h. A s more
pe ople be gan to fall ill in the
pris o n, de taine d pe o ple
repo rte d cruelty whe n they
as ked fo r he lp. They w ere
peppe r s praye d, is o lated, and
de nied fo o d. When detained

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

33

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

pe ople trie d to repo rt the
c o nce rning c onditions to the
may or, s he share d the ir re po rts
w ith the w arden, w ho had a talk
w ith the detained pe ople but
to o k no steps to address the
c o nditio ns. By mid-A pril, ov er
5 0 peo ple had tested pos itive. 160
T he pris o n res po nde d by
mo v ing indiv idu als w ho tes ted
pos itive to a part of the jail that
had be en s hut dow n in 2018 o r
trans porting the m to the
hos pital if ne cess ary. 161
In res po nse to ris ing c ases , the
c riminal le gal syste m c ame
to gethe r to redu ce the lo cal
pre trial po pulatio n. Law
e nfo rce ment foc use d arres ts o n
se rious and no nv iolent charges ,

and prosecu to rs, public
defende rs, and ju dges w orked
to gethe r to ide ntify pe o ple fo r
rele ase e ve n if they c ou ld no t
affo rd the ir bonds, reac hing a
te n-ye ar rec o rd low for the
pre trial po pulatio n. 162
E ve n w ith these po pulatio n
re ductio n me asu res , ov er 1, 0 0 0
pe ople were still sharing
c o nfine d s paces w itho ut a
poss ibility fo r s oc ial
distanc ing. 163 By mid- M ay there
we re 9 3 co nfirme d cas es of
c o ro nav irus ins ide the facility . 164
O n M ay 27 , in respo nse to the
ballo oning nu mber of cas es
inside the priso n, the
A dv ance me nt P roje ct and the
C enter fo r C o nstitutio nal R ights

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

34

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

file d a laws u it s ee king a
te mporary restraining orde r o n
be half o f inc arce rated
individu als fo r the ongo ing and
se rious ris ks ins ide the fac ility. 165
S heriff S id G au tre au x and
W arden D e nnis G rimes,
defendants in the fede ral su it,
c laime d they had the pande mic
u nde r c o ntro l and we re strictly
fo llow ing pu blic he alth
gu idelines. 166 M eanw hile ,
plaintiffs like D ev o nte Stew art,
w ho de velo ped high blo o d
pres sure after be ing expose d to
C O V ID -19 , claimed that the
pris o n did not fo llow testing o r
qu arantine proc edures w he n
bringing new indiv idu als into
ge neral po pu latio n. 167 U ltimate ly,
like other litigatio n see king
rele ase , the motion fo r a
te mporary restraining orde r was
de nied. 168

M arc h and O ctober, w ith o ve r
half o f the c ases occ urring in
A pril. T he re have als o bee n
rece nt repo rts that the priso n is
no lo nger quarantining peo ple
fo r 14 days, bec ause they do
no t have e nough spac e.
F o r info rmatio n abo ut
dev elopme nts in othe r lo cal
parish fac ilities, see App e ndix B.

In ge ne ral, E ast B aton R ou ge
P arish P riso n has be en u nw illing
o r u nable to share info rmatio n
regarding the status o f the
pande mic at the fac ility. In
respo nse to a pu blic rec o rds
request, the s he riff’s o ffic e
indic ated that it has no
information regarding the total
nu mber of C O V ID - 19 tests
administe re d to its inc arce rated
po pu latio n o r how many had
tes te d positive . The office
repo rte d a total o f 41 staff
c o nfirme d staff cas es betw ee n

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

35

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

PART II: INADEQUATE AND HARMFUL
GOVERNMENT RESPONSES
T he state of L ou is iana and its
parishes have respo nded in
ineffective and harmful ways to
the pandemic be hind bars .
Instead o f imple me nting
c o mmon-se nse re forms to
re duce the spre ad of C O V ID -19
in state wide fac ilities, the
S tate ’s res po nse has bee n
w oe fully inadequ ate to c ontain
the v irus and pro perly ide ntify
and treat those infected w ith it.

INITIAL STATEWIDE
RESPONSE
Camp J
O ne of the o nly fu lly
imple me nte d plans fro m the
S tate was the de c isio n to have
loc al jails and state pris o ns
se nd inc arce rated pe ople w ho
tes te d positive for C O V ID -19 to
C amp J at L SP in lie u of
prov iding the m w ith appro priate
me dic al c are in a hospital
setting.
C amp J is no t a he althcare
fac ility—it is a prev ious ly
s huttered u nit notorious fo r its
c rue l co nditions , and it is
loc ated w ithin L SP , a pris o n that

w as re ce ntly fou nd by a fe de ral
c ou rt to pro v ide an
u nc o nstitu tio nally inade qu ate
leve l of me dic al care . 169 Prior to
be ing pe rmanently close d in
M ay 2018 , C amp J e xperie nced
s ignificant mo ld and flo oding,
and c onditions w ithin we re
desc ribed as w o rse than de ath
ro w. 170 C amp J w as des igned as
a disc iplinary u nit, where
pe ople who had bro ke n ru les o r
had be hav ioral issues w ou ld be
held in so litary c o nfine me nt,
w hic h is not an appro priate
replace me nt for ethic al me dic al
is olatio n and co uld pote ntially
w o rse n the c risis . 171 J ero me
M o rgan, a fo rme rly incarc erate d
pers o n who was held in so litary
c o nfine me nt at C amp J ,
desc ribed the plan as
e ffe ctiv ely “pu nis hing them fo r
be ing sic k.”172
T his plan s ubjected peo ple w ho
we re potentially at ris k of los ing
the ir lives o r sustaining lifelo ng
inju ry to c o nditio ns that likely
inc reas ed ris k of dise ase and
de ath. In fac t, this plan dire ctly
c o ntrave ne d LD H and C D C
rec o mme ndatio ns to transfe r
infe cte d pe o ple to he althcare
fac ilities. 173 L SP , w he re C amp J
is loc ate d, is s itu ated o ve r an

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

36

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

ho ur away fro m the ne ares t
refere nc e hospital. T he State
the refo re o pte d to c o nc entrate
inc arcerated C O V ID -19 patie nts
fro m all ov er the s tate—a
dispropo rtio nate nu mbe r o f
w hom are e lderly o r othe rw ise
me dic ally vulne rable—in a
re mo te fac ility w ith no hos pital
ne arby. M o re o ver, the D O C ’s
o w n policy state d that it w as
pre fe rable fo r infected peo ple
to re main in lo cal facilities
rathe r than be trans po rte d,
w hic h has the potential to
s pre ad the diseas e eve n mo re. 174
Bu t w he n the state w as
c hallenge d to c o me u p w ith a
plan to res pond to the lo oming
impac t of the pande mic in
pris o ns and jails, they c hose to
s ac rifice any modicu m of
respect fo r inc arce rated
pe ople ’s he alth and s afe ty.
O nc e pe ople we re expe rienc ing
se rious C O V ID -19 s ympto ms
and tested at the ir o rigin
fac ility, w hic h likely me ant they
had be en c o ntagious for days,
they we re transferre d to C amp
J. 175 L ess than tw o wee ks afte r
the transfers began, there w as
alre ady a critic al s ho rtage o f
me dic al staff: The ratio o f
nu rses to patie nts in C amp J
me dic al is o latio n w as already
dange ro us at 1:20 in mid-A pril. 176
S o me of the pe o ple brou ght to
C amp J we re expe rie nc ing

Figure 6: Photo of mold in Camp J
shortly after camp closure

sy mpto ms s o s eve re that the y
nee de d IV mac hines o r o xy ge n
masks , and many had c omo rbidities that s ignific antly
inc reas ed the ir risk of sev ere
sy mpto ms. 177 D espite thes e
inc reas ed ris ks , the limite d
me dic al staff w orking in C amp J
we re u npre pare d to c are for
anyo ne w ho su dde nly
dev eloped se vere sy mpto ms o r
requ ire d hos pitalizatio n be caus e
C amp J was ne ithe r a
he althc are fac ility no r had it
bee n co nve rte d to a makes hift
he althc are ce nte r. 178 T he closes t
hos pital to LS P, West F elic iana
P arish H ospital, had no
v entilators and w as not
pre pared to care for patients
requ iring intu batio n. 179 A nu mbe r
o f incarc erate d pe o ple
repres ented to a fe de ral c ourt

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

37

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

that the y w ere c o nc erne d the y
w ou ld not rece ive medical c are
s ho uld the ir s y mpto ms be c ome
se ve re. 180
A bout a mo nth afte r the plan
we nt into e ffe ct, the re were
abou t 134 patie nts in C amp J. 181
P eo ple w ho had bee n
trans ferre d there re po rte d that
they we re be ing house d in a
do rmitory se tting w ith v ery s ic k
patients. 182 PJI; the S outhe rn
P o ve rty L aw C e nte r; and law
firm O rric k, H e rrington, and
S utc liffe brou ght litigatio n in
G u mns v. E dwards o n be half of
pe ople who had bee n
trans ferre d to C amp J o r we re
at ris k of be ing transfe rre d to
C amp J. D es pite the du nge onlike c o nditio ns and abys mal
me dic al c are fo r infecte d
pe ople, U .S. D istrict Ju dge
S helly D ic k fou nd the plan
pass ed muste r. Ju dge D ic k
fo cuse d o n fe atu res like a ne w
air c onditio ning s yste m, w hic h
itse lf might inc re ase spre ad
bas ed o n new info rmatio n abo ut
the spre ad of c oro nav irus.
In Ju ne, a man incarc erate d in
S t. Be rnard P aris h w as
trans ferre d to C amp J and w rote
to PJI:
“I tes te d p ositive for C ovid-19
and was shipp e d off to L o uis iana
S tate P riso n – Ang ola on

4.3 0.2020 , where I was hous ed on
C amp J (p art of the priso n that
was de e med inhu man du e to its
c onditions ) for 3 4 days, unde r
e xtreme co nditio ns (no A/C , no
drinkab le water as well as b eing
hous ed in a c e ll filled with rust
and mold) while already dealing
with a resp iratory infec tion.”

Review Panel
In mid- A pril, as the pande mic
began to reach c ris is lev el in
state pris ons , the state
annou nce d a R ev iew P anel that
w ou ld c o nside r fu rlou ghs fo r
1, 20 0 peo ple in D O C custo dy
w ho w ere w ithin the final s ix
mo nths of a se nte nce fo r a
no nv io le nt, no n- sex- offens e,
making u p o nly 4 perce nt o f the
po pu latio n in D O C custo dy. 183
F urlough requ ire d five out o f s ix
poss ible v otes fro m the pane l. 184
In practic e, few indiv idu als from
the already ve ry narrow po ol of
e ligible incarc erate d pe o ple
we re e ver rele ase d.
W he n the G o ve rno r mov ed the
S tate to P hase Tw o o n J une 1,
20 20 , the D O C c hose to disband
the panel despite high rates of
c o ro nav irus in state fac ilities
and 14 deaths . 185 W he n the panel
w as disc o ntinue d, o nly 6 3
pe ople had bee n re leas ed of
the potential 1, 20 0, c o mpris ing
0 .2 pe rc ent of the to tal nu mber

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

38

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

~ --- DOC Population • about 30,000

- -- - --

Granted Furlough • 100
Actually Released • 63

Cost of Needless Incarceration =

over $2,549,000
in D O C custody. 186 PJ I has racial
data for only a po rtion of the
pe ople who we re re v iewe d by
the P anel, but that limite d data
su ggest that the P anel was
mo re like ly to grant fu rlou gh to
w hite indiv idu als o ve r B lac k
individu als . vii
T he incredible narro wness of
the fu rlou gh plan c ost the State
millio ns of do llars . Betwe en
those who we re eligible fo r
rev ie w but denie d rele ase by
the panel, and those w ho were
grante d releas e but not actu ally

rele ase d imme diately, the D O C
inc arcerated peo ple fo r mo nths
u nnec essarily during the
pande mic. A s o f N o ve mber 4,
those indiv iduals re v iewe d by
the P anel had bee n he ld fo r a
c o mbine d total of at le ast
9 7 , 819 days past rev iew . 187 A t a
c ost of $26.39 pe r day, viii the
state spent ov er $ 2, 5 49 , 00 0
inc arcerating pe ople who we re
w ithin the final s ix mo nths of
the ir se ntences for no nv iolent,
no n-se x- offe nses—du ring a
pande mic. T hes e funds c ould
have be en s pe nt o n testing,

vii

viii

PJI has racial data for 319 individuals who were
reviewed by the Panel. Of those, 61% were Black, and
39% were white, but only 48% of those granted
furlough were Black, while 52% were white.

Prior to July 1, the cost was $25.39. The difference
between pre- and post-July incarceration costs is
accounted for in this calculation.

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

39

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

P PE , hospital e qu ipment,
is olatio n fac ilities, staffing,
v ac c ine av ailability , or
c ou ntless othe r res ou rc es that
c ou ld have helped, rather than
hu rt, L ou is ianans.

c o rrectio nal se ttings, the rac ial
disparities are likely higher in
L ou is iana pris ons and jails
bec ause of the pre- existing
disparities in the c riminal le gal
syste m.

O n O cto be r 20, 20 20,
R epres entative Te d J ames
intro duc ed H R 37 , w hic h
requests that the D e partme nt o f
P ublic S afety and C orre ctions
rec o nve ne the C O V ID - 19
F urlough Re v iew P anel. 188 T hat
legislatio n pass ed the L ou is iana
H ouse of Re prese ntative tw o
days later and w as prese nted to
the S ecretary of State. H ow eve r,
it re mains to be see n w hethe r
the G ov ernor w ill re -start the
rev ie w pane l.

O n Ju ne 15, the Su bc o mmitte e
o n Spe c ial Po pu latio ns fo r
P ris ons , made up o f expe rts o n
public health and incarce ration
in the state , releas ed the ir
repo rt and rec o mme ndatio ns. 190
T he y re viewe d a s ignific ant
amo unt of material, including
repo rts fro m incarc erate d
pe ople, and made imme diate
rec o mme ndatio ns, inc lu ding:

Health Equity Task Force
In anothe r plan to res pond to
the v irus, G o verno r E dw ards
c o nv ened a T as k F orce
inte nded to ide ntify the impact
o f C O V ID -19 o n vu lnerable
po pu latio ns, inclu ding
inc arcerated peo ple. T his w as
an impo rtant ste p to help
address the rac ial disparities in
de aths fro m C O V ID -19 in
L ou is iana. N amely, Blac k peo ple
make u p o ne -third o f the state ’s
po pu latio n, but mo re than half
o f the C O V ID -19 re lated
de aths. 189 A lthough we do not
have rac ial data for the
infe ctio ns o r de aths in

1. T he G o ve rno r s hould appo int
a Statew ide Indepe nde nt
H e alth M o nitor ove r all jails
and priso ns ;
2. D e carc eration or c o ntro lle d
e vacu ation to e nable prope r
s oc ial distanc ing;
3 . E vacu ate all pos itiv e patients
to medic al fac ility for
o bs ervatio n/tre atme nt;
4. E nable s o cial distanc ing as
the c orne rsto ne o f mitigatio n;
5 . P rioritize tes ting, hygie ne ,
and sanitation;
6 . A dopt me asu res to address
C O V ID -19 relate d mental
he alth c once rns ; and
7 . LD H to wo rk in c ollabo ratio n
w ith D O C to pro vide realtime , pu blic ly available data
o n C O V ID -19 de aths, c ases,

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

40

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

and fac ility C O V ID -19
pre paredness and res pons e
protoc ols . 191
D es pite these reas o nable,
e v idence- base d, and u rge nt
rec o mme ndatio ns, the State
to o k almost no s te ps to
imple me nt the m. E ach
rec o mme ndatio n w as key to
re duc ing v iral s pread and s av ing
lives, w hile als o maintaining the
re habilitativ e goals of our
c riminal jus tice syste m. In
A u gus t, the H e alth E qu ity T as k
F o rc e pro duc ed anothe r re po rt,
w ith mo difie d re co mme ndatio ns
fro m the S ubco mmittee o n
S pe c ial Po pu latio ns for
P ris ons . 192 The new immediate
rec o mme ndatio ns w ere as
fo llows, w ith emphas is adde d to
the rec o mmendations that w ere
s ignificantly mo difie d fro m the
Ju ly re port.
T he tw o c hange d
rec o mme ndatio ns are less
stringe nt and ine vitably re qu ire
less w o rk o n be half o f the state
and less acc ou ntability to
e nsu re that pris o ns are mee ting
natio nal gu idelines and pro pe rly
e vacu ating incarce rate d pe o ple
w ith C O V ID - 19. D es pite these
c hanges , o nly me ager ste ps
have be en take n to implement
these rec o mme ndatio ns. T he
state ’s inactio n he re
de monstrates an indifference

HEALTH E QUITY TASK FORCE
JULY RECO MME NDAT IONS
1. We reco mmend th e governo r
appoint a Statewid e Public
Heal th & Corrections COVID-19
Coordina tor to wo rk in clos e
collaboratio n wi th a team to
support jails and prisons in
compl ying wi th CDC and OSHA
guidelin es a nd make
recommenda tions regard ing
pandemic practices, policies, and
proc edures in p risons and jails ;
2. Decarc era tion or co ntroll ed
evacua tion to ena ble proper
social distancing;
3. Ensure app rop ria te h eal th ca re
trea tmen t, in cluding evacua tion
where sy mpto ma tic, fo r all
inca rc erated p eopl e w ho tes t
positive;
4. Enable social distancing as the
cornerstone of mitigation;
5. Prioritiz e t esting, hygi ene, and
sanitation;
6. Adopt measur es to addr ess
COVID- 19 r elat ed m enta l healt h
concer ns; a nd
7. LDH to work i n collabo ration
with DP S&C to provide r eal time, publi cly ava ilabl e data o n
COVID- 19 d eaths, cas es, and
facility COVID -19 p repa red ness
and respo nse pro tocols.

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

41

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

tow ards the he alth and lives of
inc arcerated peo ple and
su rro unding c o mmunities.

MISINFORMATION
AND A LACK OF
TRANSPARENCY
A s the C O V ID -19 pande mic
initially u nfolde d, it w as
u nde rstandable that info rmatio n
and gov ernme nt strate gy w ould
c hange qu ic kly , just as our
u nde rstanding o f C O V ID -19
e vo lv ed. B ut that does no t
e xplain o r justify the inte ntional
mis info rmatio n and the lac k o f
trans pare nc y fro m s tate and
loc al agencies abo ut the v irus ’s
s pre ad in c orrec tio nal
institutio ns. T he D O C made
misreprese ntations—regarding
the ste ps that it w as taking—to
inc arcerated peo ple and the ir
families , the public , and the
c ou rts .
F amily me mbe rs c alling about
lo ve d ones ofte n rec e ive d
mis info rmatio n. M ic hael
W illiams w as e xpe rienc ing
se ve re s y mpto ms by the time
he was allowe d to c all his
family . 193 When the family and
his atto rney co ntac te d L SP
o ffic ials, they we re to ld M r.
W illiams did not have
c o ro nav irus. 194 H e w as s o on

hos pitalize d. 195 H is family
c o ntinue d to rece ive c onflicting
information u ntil they we re told
M r. Williams w as close to de ath,
less than a w ee k after M r.
W illiams initially re porte d
sy mpto ms to his family. 196 H e
w as de clared brain dead be fo re
his family c ou ld get to the
hos pital. 197

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

42

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

P ublicly , D O C o ffic ials repo rte d
that pe o ple incarc erate d in
state pris ons we re prov ide d
w ith tw o masks that w ere
w as hed and sanitize d daily. 198
Bu t inc arce rated pe ople
repo rte d that they we re
stru ggling to get any mas ks
ne arly tw o months into the
pande mic, and in res po nse,
me mbers of V o ices of the
E xperie nced (V O T E ) hand
delivered mas ks to the D O C . 199
F urther, by re fus ing to co nduc t
mass testing at L SP , des pite the
av ailability o f tests, and
repo rting only the pos itive
resu lts of sy mpto matic pe ople,
the D O C w as able to re po rt
u nbelie vably low tes t resu lts for
su ch a large and o ve rc ro wded
pris o n. 200 In fac t, the
methodo lo gy made public
he alth expe rts s uspicious that
the nu mbe rs we re inacc urate .
Inc arce rate d pe ople o fte n gav e
mo re re alistic ass ess me nts of
the rate of infectio n just by
ix

More than half of all incarcerated people serving
sentences under state custody are held in local jails
instead of state prisons. Local jails house people in
state custody for a daily per diem and use that
money to supplement their budgets. At the time
that the pandemic began, 13,844 incarcerated
people in state custody were in one of the over 100
parish jails statewide. Louisiana Profile, PRISON
POLICY
INITIATIVE,
https://www.prisonpolicy.org/profiles/LA.html
(last visited Oct. 30, 2020); Julia O’Donoghue, As

repo rting the nu mbe r of
sy mpto matic pe ople at a s ingle
po int in time in the ir do rm. 201
E ve n w he n the D O C did pro vide
nu mbers , the y w ere hard to
dec ipher and ou tdate d. 202
A dditio nally, be cause s o many
inc arcerated peo ple in D O C
c ustody are held in loc al paris h
jails , determining the true
nu mber of pe o ple e xpose d to
C O V ID -19 , teste d for it, or
pos itive in e ac h facility and
u nde r state or loc al cus to dy
w as imposs ible. ix
In a c ou rt c ase challe nging the
c o nditio ns at R ay bu rn
C o rrectional C enter, a fe de ral
judge fou nd it “trou bling that
D O C offic ials, at le ast at
R ay bu rn, hav e apparently
disre garde d the impo rtance o f
s oc ial distanc ing in pre ve nting
the spre ad of this u nique
diseas e.”203 F u rthe r, afte r he aring
tes timo ny fro m incarc erate d
pe ople, Ju dge J ac ks o n fo und
the ir statements “c re dible ” and
prison population drops, Louisiana sheriffs ask for
more money, NOLA.COM (Apr. 18, 2019),
https://www.nola.com/news/article_ce3f6329d9fe-55f4-a295-97db50afe4ff.html; Anat Rubin et
al., Inside the U.S.’s Largest Maximum-Security
Prison, COVID-19 Raged. Outside, Officials Called
Their Fight a Success, PROPUBLICA (Jun 24, 2020),
https://www.propublica.org/article/inside-the-usslargest-maximum-security-prison-covid-19-raged.

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

43

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

that the y had “paint[e d] a very
differe nt pictu re ” fro m what
D O C offic ials had repo rte d. 204
W he n pe o ple inc arcerated in
state pris ons he ard the
disc repanc ies betwe en the
D O C ’s public s tate me nts and
the ir live d re alities , they
re ac he d out to adv oc ates , lo ve d
o nes, and jo urnalists in an effo rt
to tell the ir tru th. 205 It is only
bec ause of the ir tireless e fforts
that w e have a ge nu ine
u nde rstanding o f the D O C ’s
respo nse .
T he State ’s res po ns ibility for
c ando r is particu larly impo rtant
w he n caring for pe ople in
c ustody bec ause of the phys ic al
barriers these po pulatio ns have
to c ommunicatio n w ith the
o uts ide wo rld. State o ffic ials not
o nly faile d to meet these
respo ns ibilities with respect to
inc arcerated po pulatio ns, bu t
they als o affirmativ ely e ngaged
in misle ading be hav ior that calls
fo r fu rther investigatio n.

DEPLORABLE
CONDITIONS OF
CONFINEMENT
A cross the c o untry , pris o ns
respo nde d to C O V ID - 19 by
c ance lling v is itation, re qu iring
inc arcerated peo ple to re main

in the ir dorms o r ce lls, and
maintaining co nditio ns o f
c o nfine me nt that v iolate ou r
v alues o f de cency and
hu manity. T he res pons e by
o ffic ials in Lo u isiana w as no
differe nt.
L ou is iana has a lo ng and s to rie d
history of detaining and
inc arcerating pe ople in
partic ularly cruel c o nditio ns.
T his was e xace rbate d by the
pande mic. P eo ple we re mo ve d
into areas at LS P and E ast Bato n
R o uge P arish P riso n that we re
pre v iously c o ns idere d
u ninhabitable, du e to the ir age ,
dec ay ing state , and mo ld
infestatio ns. P ris o n o ffic ials cu t
o ff re habilitativ e activ ities that
are ess ential to daily life fo r
inc arcerated peo ple.
M os t impo rtantly , pris o n
c o nditio ns are unc ons titutional

' 1111111111 "IJl
Ill -

111

••

1111111

1

l'M

i :.!!
• - •-··-"

1.,·: _

1111'

11111

l~r; I ;

,ii,

11111

fm

Ill

1,,

11111111

111111

. 1111

;I

1

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

i;:'1

11

!

I

;;;

- l~'-111,
'

111

· ~III

11111 11 1 ' "

.

!1111 1111111 111

" , :1111 11111

I 111
1

' I II
',,

44

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

w he n they create a s ubstantial
ris k of serious harm. T he
c o ntinue d detentio n o f pe ople
w ho w ere e ligible for rele ase by
multiple me c hanis ms, as
o utline d be low, during the
pande mic was c rue l and
u nus ual bec ause it pu t e ac h and
e ve ry o ne o f the m at s ubstantial
ris k of the w o rst poss ible harm:
de ath.

Solitary Confinement and
Lockdowns
P rinc ipally , c o rrectio nal offic ials
respo nde d to C O V ID - 19 o r
e xposu re to the virus by plac ing
pe ople in s o litary c o nfine me nt
o r putting po rtions of a fac ility
o n loc kdow n. F or e xample, at
L SP , pe o ple w ho e xhibite d
sy mpto ms w ere place d in
is olatio n that w as akin to
s olitary co nfine me nt. 206 S olitary
c o nfine me nt is distinct fro m
ethic al me dic al is olatio n
bec ause it is pu nitive , ke eps
pe ople unde r the c o ntrol o f
c o rrectio nal rather than medic al
staff, and s ubjects peo ple to
c rue l co nditions w ith lo ng-term
ne gative phys ic al and
psyc hological e ffects . 207
S o litary c o nfine me nt likely
dete rre d pe ople fro m re porting
sy mpto ms and le d to increas ed
v iral s pre ad. A dditio nally, the
U nite d N atio ns and hu man
rights bo dies co ns ider s olitary

c o nfine me nt a fo rm of torture
that s hould be u nifo rmly
banne d, making it particularly
c rue l to impose u po n pe o ple
e xperie ncing o r e xpos ed to a
life- thre ate ning illness .

No or Inadequate Medical
Care
A s pre vio usly mentio ne d,
fac ilities ac ross Lo u isiana we re
alre ady failing to meet the
c o nstitu tio nal flo or fo r
he althc are for incarce rate d
pe ople, w hic h is a ve ry low bar.
T his was particu larly tru e at LS P
and the E ast B ato n Ro uge
P arish P riso n.
S till, the me dic al c are fell
s harply at many of these
fac ilities du ring the pande mic
bec ause of o ve rw helme d
me dic al staff, insuffic ie nt
su pplies, and an unprece de nted
pande mic. C linic al c are at L SP
re maine d s uspende d as o f e arly
D e ce mber.
O ne family me mber w ho
c o ntacted PJ I w rote “I just got a
c all fro m my s o n fro m A ngo la.
H e is frantic be cause his
me dic al needs are be ing
igno red. In the past I c alled and
peste re d the po we rs that be to
help him, but it has no t bee n
w o rking lately . It has bee n tw o
y ears s inc e he was laste d

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

45

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

$3-$6
= c o st o f pl a c i ng a
sic k c a l l a t L S P

2¢-20¢/hour
= a n i nc a r c e r a t ed
pe r so n’ s w a g e
at LSP

tes te d fo r his hep-C .” A man
inc arcerated at E ast B aton
R o uge P arish P riso n reporte d
that he w as not be ing give n his
bloo d pressu re me dicatio n, and
failure to c ontrol his bloo d
pres sure w ou ld he ighten his ris k
o f sev ere sy mpto ms if he were
to c ontract C O V ID -19 . A w o man
repo rte d that s he w as not
rece iv ing he r se izure me dic ation
and that her diabetes w as be ing
po o rly managed. A c ance r and
C O V ID -19 su rv ivo r at Ray mo nd
L abo rde C orrec tio nal C e nte r
s aid that he had blo od in his
sto ol, but medical offic ials were
refusing to give him a
c olo nosc opy.
S ev eral me n inc arcerated at
L SP have re ported that they do
no t bother to plac e s ic k c alls
w he n they ne ed me dical
atte ntio n bec aus e it is a w aste

o f mo ne y, sinc e it almos t ne ve r
resu lts in them getting to s ee a
do ctor. Plac ing a s ic k c all at
L SP c osts betwe en $3 and $6 if
it is an e me rgency—whic h is a
s ignificant e xpe nse fo r pe o ple
w ho e arn betwe en tw o and
tw enty ce nts pe r hou r. T he
pris o n had te mpo rarily sto pped
c harging for s ic k c alls during
the pandemic, but PJI has
rece ive d re ports that the
c harges have s inc e resu me d.
A midst it all, pris o n me dic al
staff co ntinue d to acc use
inc arcerated me n of
“malinge ring”—pre te nding to be
s ic k to av o id go ing to wo rk o r to
gain s o me other benefit. 208
M alinge ring is generally
pu nis he d w ith trans fe r to a
disc iplinary unit or place me nt in
s olitary co nfine me nt,
c o nse que nc es that most
individu als w ould not be likely
to ris k du ring the pande mic .
A ssu ming malinge ring c an lead
to le gitimate and lifethreate ning s ympto ms be ing
igno red. M oreo ve r, in a time
w he n eve ry headac he and s ign
o f fatigue is c ause fo r anxie ty
amo ng pe ople who are not
inc arcerated, the threat of be ing
pu nis he d for malinge ring c an
lead to u nderre porting of
sy mpto ms, and thus
u nidentifie d pos itive c ases o f

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

46

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

C O V ID -19 , among incarce rate d
po pu latio ns.

Forced Labor in
Dangerous Conditions
N ationwide , there have be en
w ides pre ad discuss io ns abo ut
w o rkplac e co nditio ns and
w o rking fro m ho me s inc e the
o ns et o f the pande mic. But little
o f thos e discuss io ns have bee n
fo cuse d o n fo rc ed labo r in
pris o n se ttings o r wo rk re leas e
pro grams at loc al jails. T hou gh
c o rrectio nal institutio ns
state wide s hut dow n v is itatio n
and so me trans fers betwe en
pris o ns, both o f w hic h are
po te ntial av enues fo r spre ad of
the v irus, many parish jails
c o ntinue d their wo rk re le ase
pro grams, mo v ing de taine d
pe ople bac k and fo rth betw ee n
jails and co mmu nities . 209
O n A pril 3 , w he n a pers o n
partic ipating in the E ast B aton
R o uge w o rk rele ase program
repo rte d sy mpto ms o f C O V ID 19, he w as giv en ho me o pathic
re me dies and se nt bac k to his
c ell. 210 The fo llow ing day , he
c o ntinue d to repo rt that he w as
ill, afte r w hic h the w arden
threate ne d him and o ffic ers
c ho ke d him u ntil he was
u nc o nsc ious. 211 H e w as not alo ne
in this kind of abus e. Pe ople
partic ipating in the O uachita

P arish w ork rele ase program
we re su bje cte d to u nsanitary
c o nditio ns and inc ons istently
prov ide d mas ks. 212 T hese s ame
labo re rs had w orked at a
po ultry plant u ntil late M arc h,
w he n c iv ilian e mploye es be gan
to test pos itiv e fo r c oro nav irus. 213

T h e f o l l o w i ng d a y, h e c o nt in u ed
t o r epo r t t ha t h e w a s il l , a f t er
w h ic h t h e w a r d e n t h r ea t e n ed h im
a nd o f f ic er s c ho k e d h im u nt il he
w a s u nc o nsc io u s.

W he re w ork re le ase programs
did c o me to a halt, the re was no
c o rrespo nding c hange in the
nu mber of hou rs that peo ple
partic ipating in the pro gram
we re require d to w ork to
c o mplete the ir s ente nce . This
e ffe ctiv ely exte nded the ir
rele ase date and increas ed the ir
c o nfine me nt bey ond what was
o riginally intende d.
A t L SP , w hic h is a fo rme r s lave
plantatio n that c ontinu es to
o perate the ir fields w ith force d
labo r, those ass igned to w o rk in
the fie lds c o ntinue d to
inte rmitte ntly do s o with no
s oc ial distanc ing. A cc ording to
repo rts fro m thos e ins ide, they

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

47

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

we nt in and o ut of the priso n
w ith no prec autio nary health o r

I am a baker at C amp F . I was
s le e ping in the do rm . . . and
the Warden came and to ld me
to pac k my stuff to go to
C amp J. H e wanted me to
move to C amp J to work. I told
him I wo uldn’t g o and he wrote
me up and loc ked up me and
ano the r p ers on in a c e ll fo r
refus ing to g o. I was worried
abou t my health if I went to
C amp J. I was in
adminis trative se gregatio n fo r
five days . Before that, I hadn’t
had a write u p in many ye ars.”

sc re ening me asu res take n.
P eo ple w ho re fuse d to w ork in
the fie lds during the pandemic
we re se nt to loc kdow n. T hos e
w ho bu ilt c o ffins fo r the pris o n
grav ey ard and lay the m in the
grou nd e xperience d an inc reas e
in w o rk as the y lay s o many of
the ir brothe rs to rest. 214
Inc arce rate d pe ople ass igned to
the kitc he n o r to do
maintenance w ork we re be ing
requ ire d to e nter C amp J, w he re
the C O V ID -19 patie nts we re
be ing hous ed. A t one point,
kitc he n staff we re ev en told
they w ou ld have to mo ve into
C amp J. O ne pers o n w as

disc iplined fo r refusing to mo ve
into those de crepit c o nditio ns,
w hic h w o uld like ly ensure
e xposu re to the virus : “I am a
bake r at C amp F . I w as slee ping
in the do rm . . . and the W arden
c ame and to ld me to pac k my
stu ff to go to C amp J. H e
w ante d me to mov e to C amp J
to wo rk. I told him I w ou ldn’t go
and he w rote me u p and lo cked
u p me and another perso n in a
c ell fo r refus ing to go . I w as
w o rrie d abo ut my he alth if I
we nt to C amp J . I w as in
administrative s egre gatio n for
five days. Be fore that, I hadn’t
had a write up in many ye ars.”
P ris on and jail staff did little , if
anything, to protect
inc arcerated labo re rs, who
ess entially ru n muc h of the day to- day o pe ratio ns o f the
fac ilities.

FAILURE TO USE
RELEASE
MECHANISMS
P o pulatio n re ductio n was mo re
u rgent in Lo u isiana than
perhaps anywhere e lse in the
w o rld bec ause of how c rowded
the state ’s fac ilities we re. S o me
jails began po pu latio n re du ctio n
e fforts e arly w hile state and
federal fac ilities lagged. 215 The

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

48

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

o nly ele ment of the s tate ’s plan
to re le ase inc arce rate d pe ople
in D O C custody, the Re v iew
P anel, we nt largely u nfulfille d
and u nde ru tiliz ed. C iv il rights
attorne ys file d class actio n
lawsu its, indiv idu al motio ns fo r
relie f, and habeas petitions on
be half o f inc arce rated pe ople
se eking to be rele ase d.
A dv oc ates ac ross the state
c alle d fo r re le ases. F o r the most
part, the litigatio n was
u nsu ccess ful and the c alls w ent
u nhee de d.
A nother poss ible rele ase
mec hanis m is pardons . G o ve rno r
E dw ards has abs olute co ntrol
o ve r pardo ns, bu t he faile d to
s ign any u ntil mid-July, at w hic h
po int he s igned a grand total o f
s ix. M any of the pe o ple w hose
pardo n pe titio ns are aw aiting
the go vernor’s s ignatu re are
me dic ally vulne rable, inclu ding
a canc er patie nt w ith a 6- month
pro gnos is.
A nother issue that preve nted
the rele ase o f inc arce rate d
pe ople who we re ne aring the
e nd of the ir se nte nce w as that
the ir releas e w as c ontinge nt o n
the c o mpletion of ce rtain
c lass es o r pro gramming, w hic h
w as s uspende d at the be ginning
o f the pande mic . F or e xample ,
the family me mbe r o f s o me o ne
at the C edarw oo d M ano r Wo rk

R ele ase C e nter in C alcas ie u
P arish reached out to P JI’s
o ffice in A pril. The indiv idu al’s
mo ther w as s erving a sente nce
that re qu ired c o mpletio n of
c ertain classes. N ot o nly w ere
the classes sus pe nded, making
rele ase imposs ible , but all w ork
had be en sus pe nded, le av ing
he r detained fo r no re aso n.
A nother man w as de nied pardo n
by the bo ard bec ause he lac ked
the requ is ite classes, but s uc h
c lass es are not available on the
hos pital w ard w he re he is being
held.
In o ther s itu ations , indiv idual
judges blo c ked rele ase bec ause
o f a misu nde rstanding of the
po te ntial cris is at hand. In
C alcas ie u Paris h, ju dges,
prose cutors , and c ou rt staff met
to disc uss pu blic defe nde r
H arry F o nte not’s argu me nt that
no nv io le nt pe o ple shou ld be
rele ase d to mitigate the e ffe cts
o f C O V ID -19 in jail. 216 In adv ance
o f the meeting, 14th J udic ial
D istrict C ou rt J udge D av id
R itc hie texte d his c o lle agues
that pe o ple us ing dru gs had
su ch po o r hy gie ne, sec o nd o nly
to pe o ple e xperie nc ing me ntal
illness, that they w ould be at
gre ater ris k o f infection if
rele ase d. 217 T hes e inaccu rate
ge neraliz ations s ho we d a cle ar
misu nderstanding of the dange r
o f v iral s pread in c onfined

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

49

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

settings. Y et, Ju dge R itc hie
c o ntinue d to have c ontrol o ve r
and de ny the rele ase o f
detained peo ple. 218
In N ew O rle ans, it w as
prose cutors making abs urd
argu me nts . P ublic de fe nders in
N ew O rleans imme diate ly ac ted
o n be half o f me dic ally
v ulne rable c lie nts, filing
mo tio ns to low er bo nds s o
pe ople c ould be rele ase d
befo re the virus spre ad thro ugh
the jail. 219 P rosecu to rs
respo nde d w ith bo ile rplate
language argu ing that the
c riminal defe ndants w ould
actu ally incre ase the pu blic’s
ris k of infectio n. 220 T his
o ppos itio n ultimate ly inc re ase d
the ris k for all of the N ew
O rleans c ommunity by
inc reas ing the like liho od that
fac ility staff w ould be e xpose d
and c ontribute to c ommunity
s pre ad.
T o date, faith leade rs and
me dic al practitioners have
requeste d the re le ase of
appro ximately fiftee n medic ally
v ulne rable patients ac ross the
state fac ilities. F o r e xample, o ne
patient is paralyz ed fro m the
nec k dow n, and as a result has
dev eloped bed s ores and a
neu roge nic bladde r, w hic h
requ ires a cathe ter to c ollect his
u rine. H e has de velo pe d

c o mplic ations fro m the
c atheter, inc luding infe ction.
Q uadriplegic patients are at
inc reas ed ris k fo r res piratory
(breathing) c o mplic ations .
A nother patient su ffe rs fro m
c ardiov asc ular dis eas e, histo ry
o f stro ke , diabe tes mellitus, and
hy perte ns io n. A ll pleas for
rele ase have go ne unanswe re d.
U nfo rtu nately, almos t e ve ry
acto r at eve ry leve l in the
syste m c o ntribute d to this
failure to use re le ase
mec hanis ms . Those respo ns ible
fo r ens uring jus tice and the
s afe ty o f ou r state and loc al
c o mmu nities abandoned this
duty . Rather, the y e qu ate d
s afe ty w ith maximiz ing the
nu mber of pe o ple behind bars.
T his is w ro ng base d o n
e v idence abo ut pu blic s afe ty
and inc arce ratio n, and gav e no
c o ns ideration to the w ays in
w hic h mass inc arce ratio n pu ts
all of us at ris k o f infection. O u r
po litic ians and gove rnme nt
leade rs hip must end the ir
v ic io us c o mmitme nt to mass
inc arceratio n.

FAILURE TO
CONDUCT MASS
TESTING
T he N ational Institute o f H ealth
states that w ides pread C O V ID -

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

50

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

19 testing “s aves lives ” and is
o ne of the ways that w ill allow
us to eve ntu ally re tu rn to ou r
no rmal lives . 221 H ow eve r, mos t
fac ilities faile d to implement
any kind of unive rsal, se rial
tes ting eve n when they had
acc ess to an abu ndance of
tes ts. D O C o nly teste d 10
perce nt o f the state pris on
syste m betw ee n the beginning
o f A pril and early Ju ly. 222 O ve r
40 perce nt of those teste d we re
pos itive for c o ro nav irus. 223

A cc ording to the L ou is iana
D e partme nt of H e alth (LD H ), the
D O C w as sent 24, 0 00 tes ts
betw een the first w ee k o f Ju ne
and the s ec ond wee k o f
S epte mber. H owe ve r, the D O C
we bs ite states that the y have
o nly tested 7 , 155 incarc erate d
pe ople and fewe r than 2, 114
staff (the D O C re po rts a total o f
2, 114 staff tested, but no tes that
mo st s taff testing is s elfrepo rte d, no t administe re d by

the D O C ), as o f D ece mbe r 4,
20 20 . 224
Ironically , the most
c o mpre he ns iv e study of se rial
tes ting for c oro nav irus w as
c o nducted in an u nname d
L ou is iana state priso n. The LD H
and C D C began the
inves tigatio n afte r s taff and
inc arcerated peo ple teste d
pos itive for c o ro nav irus
betw een late M arc h and e arly
A pril. 225 Se ve nty -o ne of 9 8
pe ople ac ross five do rmitories
tes te d positive for c o ro nav irus
du ring the se rial testing
perio d. 226 O nly about half
e xhibite d sy mpto ms during this
perio d. 227 T he findings
de monstrate d the impo rtance o f
se rial testing rathe r than s imply
sc re ening fo r sy mpto ms. T he
state s ho uld hee d this
e v idence- base d
rec o mme ndatio n. Its failu re to
do s o has like ly c ontribute d to
the c o ntinue d s pread o f the
diseas e in co rrec tio nal fac ilities
and the resu lting deaths .

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

51

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

PART III: RECOMMENDATIONS
T he go ve rnme nt e ntities respo ns ible for incarc erate d pe o ple in the
state of L ou is iana canno t e xpect that qu ick or su pe rfic ial c hanges
w ill s olve the horrific and pe rvas ive pro ble ms desc ribe d he re in;
rathe r, thes e e ntities must e nact syste mic c hanges to ens ure that
the rights and health of detained and inc arce rate d pe o ple are being
prote cte d du ring times o f disas ter and dise ase.
1. R educe
the
use
of
inc arceratio n as a punis hme nt
to ol, particularly life w itho ut
the poss ibility of parole , and
re duce the use of pre-trial
dete ntio n.
2. Imme diately implement the
Ju ly 2020 re co mme ndatio ns
fro m the G ov ernor’s H e alth
E qu ity T as k F orce ;
3 . G ive the H e alth E qu ity T as k
F o rc e the au tho rity iss ue
u pdated
findings
and
rec o mme ndatio ns
fo r
the
du ratio n of the pandemic;
4. Be gin u niv ers al, se rial C O V ID 19 testing in all c arce ral
institutio ns in L ou is iana and
c o ntinue fo r the du ratio n o f
the pandemic ;
5 . A ppo int
an
inde pe nde nt
mo nito r to e nsu re c o mpliance
w ith C D C gu ide lines ;
6 . E nsu re the D O C , O J J, and
loc al jails have le ade rship
qu alifie d
to
res pond
to
pande mics, es pec ially futu re
w av es of the c oro nav irus, and
o the r disasters ;
7 . C o nv ene a c o mmittee to
inves tigate the mis info rmatio n
prov ide d to the pu blic and

inc arcerated pe ople about the
pande mic in state fac ilities ;
8 . A ffirmatively dev elop plans to
prov ide
effec tive
me dic al
c are
to
all
pe ople
inc arcerated at LS P;
9 . A me nd
the
Bas ic
J ail
G u idelines
to
re qu ire
pande mic
plans
by
lo c al
parish pris o ns holding pe ople
fo r D O C in loc al paris h pris o ns
and inclu de w ithin thos e plans
mec hanis ms fo r re po rting that
w ou ld allow D O C to re fle ct
the
status
of
its
e ntire
inc arcerated
po pulation,
along
w ith
othe r
best
practices ;
10. P ass
le gis latio n
in
c o nsultatio n
with
me dic al
e xperts to:
• R equ ire all fac ilities to
pre pare and imple ment
pande mic plans in
c o mpliance w ith C D C
gu idelines ;
• M aintain a list of all
detained or incarc erate d
pe ople with tw o o r mo re
c o morbidities and deve lop
a plan fo r fu rlou gh and

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

52

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

•

•

•

•

•

•

ho me c o nfine me nt of
these individu als ;
R equ ire fac ilities to
maintain a sto ck of PP E
and o the r equ ipme nt
nec essary for disasters ;
F u nd and re qu ire C D C appro ve d pande mic
training fo r D O C , O JJ , and
loc al jail staff to be
administe re d by a
de dicate d div is ion of the
L ou is iana D e partme nt o f
H e alth;
R equ ire all me dic al s taff
w ho w o rk in D O C , O JJ ,
and loc al jail fac ilities to
u nde rgo training o n
malinge ring and clie ntc entered healthc are in
c o rrectio nal se ttings ;
P rohibit the use of s olitary
c o nfine me nt for me dic al
re aso ns when ethic al
me dic al is o latio n is
appro priate ;
R equ ire the D O C , O JJ, and
loc al jails to pro vide e ve ry
detained or incarc erate d
pers o n free wee kly v ide o
o r pho ne calls during
states of e me rge ncy
and/o r w he n v is itatio n has
bee n s uspende d fo r the
fac ility ;
M andate that ev ery
institutio n—including
me ntal health fac ilities,
loc al jails , pris o ns, ju ve nile
dete ntio n, and

•

•

c o nfine me nt ce nte rs—
repo rt the nu mbe r of
c o ro nav irus tests
av ailable, nu mber o f tests
c o nducted, nu mbe r of
pos itive tests . and nu mbe r
o f peo ple e xhibiting
C O V ID -19 sy mpto ms or
rece iv ing treatment fo r
C O V ID -19 on a daily bas is
to the Lo uis iana
D e partme nt of Pu blic
H e alth, w hic h w ill the n
make ano ny mize d data
av ailable to the pu blic ;
M andate that the D O C ,
O J J, and lo cal jails use all
rele ase mec hanis ms
av ailable to the m du ring
states of e me rge ncy ; and
C o dify alte rnatives to
inc arceratio n that c an be
us ed during times o f
e me rge ncy w itho ut
requ iring increas ed and
u nnec essary su rve illance
o r financial burde ns .

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

53

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

CONCLUSION
“In the end, it will b e imposs ib le to kno w if we
o ve rreac ted or did to o mu ch, bu t it will b e qu ite apparent
if we u nder reac ted or did to o little.”

– L ou is iana Bus iness
E me rge ncy O pe ratio ns C e nte r 228

and c aring fo r e ac h o ther w he n
the state faile d to c are fo r the m.

Indee d, it is c le ar that the state
has do ne to o little , and the little
they did c ame to o late. D es pite
its c ons titutio nal and mo ral
o bligations to pro tect those in
its c are , the state e xpende d
little to no effo rt o n those in its
c ustody. E ffo rts by a few we re
o ve rw he lmed by co ntempt from
the many , resu lting in the
de aths of at leas t 31
inc arcerated peo ple ov er a 7 mo nth perio d. x

W e c an no lo nge r allo w the
e ffe cts o f state w ide dis asters to
dispropo rtio nate ly kill
inc arcerated peo ple, amo ng
w hom ou r B lac k and brow n
c o mmu nity me mbers are v astly
o ve rre pres ente d after
ge neratio ns of racial v iolence
and o ppress io n. We must be ar
w itness to the ir s uffering and
the ir loss es s ince the o nset of
the pandemic, and w e must
de mand that this nev er happen
again.

In these difficu lt times, peo ple
detained and inc arce rate d
ac ross L ou is iana hav e pro ve n a
stre ngth and c ompass io n that
o u r state and loc al gov ernme nts
have be en lac king. They hav e
s ho wn us w hat mutual aid lo oks
like behind bars , organiz ing
c le aning c rews , making mas ks,
x

As of December 4, 2020, the Louisiana
Department of Public Safety & Corrections’
tracking website was reporting 2,588 total
positive cases and 31 deaths among incarcerated

people, and 600 total positives and 5 deaths
among staff members. COVID-19 Inmate Positives,
LA. DEP’T OF CORRECTIONS,
https://doc.louisiana.gov/doc-covid-19-testing/.

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

54

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

APPENDIX A:
DEVELOPMENTS IN
ADDITIONAL
STATE FACILITIES
T he first c onfirme d c ase at
A lle n C o rrec tio nal C e nte r w as
arou nd J uly 2. T ho ugh the e ntire
do rm was quarantine d and
e ve ry one w as re qu ire d to we ar
masks , there we re betwe en 10 0
and 20 0 pe o ple in qu arantine by
late Ju ly.
R ay bu rn C o rrectio nal C ente r
w as o ne o f the first to re po rt
c o nfirme d pos itive c ases, w ith
five pos itiv e c ases by A pril 2. 229
T he re we re sev entee n cas es
less than tw o wee ks late r. T he re
w as no s oc ial dis tanc ing,
minimal cleaning su pplies, and
infreque nt use o f PPE . 230
D ange rous c onditions in
R ay bu rn C o rrectio nal C ente r
we re highlighted in late A pril
du ring a fe de ral co urt c ase .
T hou gh he did not be lieve he
w as in a pos ition to o rder
individu al rele ases , U .S . D istric t
Ju dge Brian J ac ks on w rote that
o ffic ials “have appare ntly
disre garde d the impo rtance o f
s oc ial distanc ing in pre ve nting
the spre ad of this u nique
diseas e.”231 Incarc erate d
individu al C hris to phe r M arlow e

file d a re quest fo r re leas e in
A pril, c iting his pre -e xisting
c o nditio ns and the fac ility’s lac k
o f a plan fo r c o mbating the
c o ro nav irus. 232 In M arlowe ’s
c o mplaint he alle ge d a
c o mplete lack of so c ial
distanc ing, sanitary su pplies , or
hy gienic me asu res. T he s pre ad
c o ntinue d into the su mme r. 233
A nother individu al reached out
to PJI in e arly M ay , s ay ing:
“I told the warden ab out our
c onc erns and he jus t laug he d.
I’m so hurt b ecaus e I fe el like my
safe ty is n’t a co nc ern to them. So
I have to protec t mys e lf. I’ve
made the dec ision to stop a
much ne eded tre atment until this
p ande mic is ove r to p ro te ct
mys e lf. I fe el what’s impo rtant to
me is n’t important to the
adminis tratio n”.
O n Ju ne 12, there we re fo rtyfive pos itiv e c ases , and se ve ral
u nits in the pris o n were o n
loc kdow n. Pe o ple we re not
e ve n be ing brou ght out of the ir
do rms to e at o r make le gal
c alls. O n A ugus t 21, the D O C
annou nce d E dward “D us ty ”
B ic kham w ou ld take ov er as the
new warde n after leav ing his
inte rim pos itio n as O JJ de puty
se cretary . 234
T he w arde n and the me dical
dire ctor of R ay mond L abo rde

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

55

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

C o rrectional C enter we re amo ng
the first de aths re lated to the
s pre ad o f c o ronav irus in
L ou is iana pris ons . 235 B ut there
we re s igns o f the c o ro nav irus
e ve n e arlie r. T he re was a flu
o utbreak in the third w ee k of
M arc h, thou gh incarc erate d
pe ople were co nc erne d that it
c ou ld be C O V ID -19. A c co rding
to re ports fro m those ins ide ,
inc arcerated peo ple w ere told
in late M arc h that the re we re
e ight co nfirme d cases and
no tice d a sudde n decreas e in
staffing lev els. M ultiple pe ople
we re re mo ve d fro m their do rms
bec ause they had C O V ID - 19 in
the first w ee k o f A pril. G u ards
began wearing glo ves and
masks , but no inc arcerated
pe ople were pro vide d glo ves o r
masks . They be gan to take
e ve ry one’s te mpe rature, but
o nly res po nded to s ic k c all
requests that inv olve d a life threate ning emerge nc y.

A t E lay n H u nt C o rrec tio nal
C enter, inc arce rate d pe ople
w o rking fo r Pris o n E nterpris es
we re tas ked w ith making hand
s anitize r us ing do nated su pplies
fro m E xxo nM o bil and othe r
manu factu re rs. 236 H owev er, the
o ve r 14, 00 0 bottles o f hand
s anitize r that had be en made by
A pril 2 were not use d to pre ve nt
the spre ad of C O V ID -19 w ithin
the pris on, but rathe r to be
s hippe d out e lsew he re. 237 A t the
s ame time this hand sanitize r
w as be ing made by those
inc arcerated, the pris on w as
se nding pe o ple to be
qu arantined as e arly as M arc h
19, acc ording to re po rts made
to PJI.

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

56

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

APPENDIX B:
DEVELOPMENTS IN
ADDITIONAL
LOCAL FACILITIES
F ranklin P aris h D ete ntio n C ente r
is loc ate d in Winns bo ro,
L ou is iana and le d by Warde n
C had L ee. 238 O n M arc h 24 there
we re no repo rte d cas es w ithin
the paris h, but this c hange d
qu ic kly, w ith three pos itiv e
c ases repo rte d the ne xt day. 239
In A pril, F ranklin P arish
D etentio n C e nte r be gan taking
me asu res to slow the s pre ad of
c o ro nav irus by se nding 10
infe cte d indiv iduals to C amp J
in A ngo la. 240 O ne man
inc arcerated at the dete ntion
c enter e xpress ed c o nce rn about
ho w the fac ility was handling
the v irus:
“…inte ntio nal ne glec t is
unnec essarily e xp osing me to the
risk of contracting the virus
which may result in death due to
me b eing an (1) diab e tic (2)
[having ] as thma (3) [and having]
he patitis C and I als o have a
me ntal he alth prob le m.”
In M ay , the F ranklin S he riff’s
O ffic e partne re d w ith the
C enters fo r D ise ase C o ntro l in
an “effort to unde rstand v irus

c o ntro l in c orrec tio nal
settings.”241 E v en afte r this
partne rship, a man w ro te to us
in Ju ly pleading fo r help and
s ay ing “[t]he v irus is still
s pre ading be cause they hav e us
mixed u p and do n’t give us [no ]
me dic ines at all…”
In e arly A pril, in N atc hitoc hes
D etentio n C e nte r, detaine d
pe ople were give n o ne bar of
s oap ev ery other we e k and had
no acc ess to hand s anitize r.
P eo ple in the fac ility we re
almost entire ly c onfined to the ir
do rms, leaving o nly fo r s ic k
c alls o r infre que ntly w he n the
do rms were cle ane d. S ic k
pe ople were not re mov ed from
the do rms, o ffic ers did not we ar
masks , no me dic al staff w ere
sc re ening fo r sy mpto ms, and
they we re not give n any way to
s oc ial distance . B y M ay, they
we re rece iving two masks per
we e k but the fac ility had made
no othe r c hanges .
A pers o n detained at the St.
T ammany J ail re ported that as
o f A pril 2, the o nly pre cautio n
staff w ere taking was
distributing s oap and a bu cket
o f so apy water fo r the flo o r
e ac h day. She repo rte d that the
jail fe lt c haotic and as if no o ne
w as in c harge. T he jail re po rte d
its first co nfirme d positive c ase
o n A pril 17 , at w hic h point other

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

57

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

pe ople were alre ady e xhibiting
sy mpto ms. 242
In mid- A pril, the T angipahoa
P arish J ail s till had not take n
any me asu res to protect
detained peo ple bey o nd
sus pe nding co ntac t v is its .
R ive rbend D ete ntio n C enter
repo rte d so me of the highes t
rates in the state . There w as no
hand s anitiz er, s o ap, o r mas ks.
In a do rm of 180 detained
pe ople, 130 had teste d pos itiv e
in late Ju ne . The pe o ple w ho
had tested pos itiv e w ere not
be ing separate d fro m those w ho
had not. S ic k pe o ple we re to ld
to re turn to be d and we re not
permitte d to take s howe rs.
M any of these pe o ple had
rece ntly be en e xpose d to
c arbo n mo no xide re pe ate dly
after there w ere leaks in the jail.
E xpos ure to carbo n mo noxide
o ve r long pe riods of time is
asso c iated w ith he art dise ase , 243
w hic h in turn is like ly to
inc reas e ris k of se vere o r fatal
C O V ID -19 sy mpto ms.
In the first few days o f A pril, a
pers o n inc arce rate d at St.
C harles N els o n C o le man
C o rrectional C enter repo rte d
that office rs we re re fus ing to
we ar mas ks. W he n inc arcerated
pe ople re ported this dange ro us
be hav io r, the o ffic ers retaliate d

by c onfisc ating their cleaning
su pplies. A s te ns io ns incre ase d
betw een inc arcerated peo ple
w ho w ante d the pris o n to take
bas ic prote ctiv e me asu res and
o ffice rs w ho re fuse d to do the
bare minimu m, it fe lt like a
“po [w ]de r ke g waiting to go
o ff….” In the las t w ee k of Ju ly,
the re was a large outbreak at
the fac ility. O v er fifty de taine d
pe ople had tes te d pos itive in
the jail as o f J uly 29. It is likely
that hu ndreds o f de taine d
pe ople were actually infec te d
bec ause the jail w as o nly
tes ting s y mpto matic pe o ple ,
and up to 8 0 pe rce nt of
c o ro nav irus c ases are mild o r
asy mpto matic . 244 B y mid-A ugus t,
196 o f the 406 peo ple
inc arcerated the re had
c o ntracte d C O V ID -19. O ffic ials
belie ve the v iru s s pread throu gh
asy mpto matic indiv idu als
c o ming to the fac ility afte r the ir
arrest, pro mpting sc ree ning
proc edures at arres t to be
rampe d u p. 245 By the e nd of
A u gus t, St. C harles P aris h
s he riff G re g C hampagne s aid
the s itu ation had mu c h
improve d w ith new testing
protoc ols , with only fiv e
pos itive c ases, all of which we re
qu arantined together. 246

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

58

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

ENDNOTES
1

Rita Rubin, The Challenge of Preventing COVID-19
Spread in Correctional Facilities, JAMA MEDICAL NEWS
&
PERSPECTIVES
(Apr.
7,
2020),
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle
/2764379.
2
Andrea Armstrong, Editorial, COVID-19 Infections
in the Prison System Concern Us All, LA. ILLUMINATOR
(July
12,
2020),
https://lailluminator.com/2020/07/12/covid-19infections-in-the-prison-system-concern-us-all/;
Brendan Saloner et al., COVID-19 Cases and Deaths
in Federal and State Prisons, JAMA MEDICAL NEWS &
PERSPECTIVES
(July
8,
2020),
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle
/2768249.
3
Alex Greer, Louisiana is No. 1 in U.S. for prisoner
deaths, NOLA.COM (updated July 19, 2019),
https://www.nola.com/entertainment_life/health_f
itness/article_59d47aff-8408-5972-8d62b71f4238e155.html#:~:text=1%20in%20U.S.%20fo
r%20prisoner%20deaths,NOLA.com%20%7C%20The&text=The%20United
%20States%20has%20the,the%20Bureau%20of%2
0Justice%20Statistics.
4
Matt McKillop, Prison Health Care Spending Varies
Dramatically by State, PEW (Dec. 15, 2017),
https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-andanalysis/articles/2017/12/15/prison-health-carespending-varies-dramatically-by-state.
5
Gordon Russell and Sam Karlin, Coronavirus
disparity in Louisiana: About 70% of the victims are
black, but why?, NOLA.COM (Apr. 6, 2020),
https://www.nola.com/news/coronavirus/article_d
804d410-7852-11ea-ac6d-470ebb61c694.html.
Black Louisianans comprise around one-third of
the general population, but 67.5% of the state
prison population is Black. Louisiana Department of
Public Safety and Corrections Briefing Book (July
https://s32082.pcdn.co/wp2020),
content/uploads/2020/08/Full-BB-Jul-20.pdf;
United States Census Bureau, Quick Facts

Louisiana
(July
1,
2019)
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/LA.
6
Samantha Springfloat, Louisiana Health Disparities
(2018),
https://www.arcgis.com/apps/Cascade/index.html
?appid=9ea2ab95c9a74c419b5364c6796716cf.
7
Matt Sledge, New Orleans Jail Staffer Tests Positive
for Coronavirus, Raising Fears About Further Spread,
NOLA.COM
(Mar.
21,
2020),
https://www.nola.com/news/coronavirus/article_d
30c370a-6baf-11ea-ab1e-07aab6f88674.html.
8
Tweet from VOTE.
9
Matt Sledge, Two Louisiana Prison Staffers,
Including Angola Employee, Test Positive for
Coronavirus,
NOLA.COM
(Mar.
26,
2020),
https://www.nola.com/news/coronavirus/article_e
947332a-6f70-11ea-83bf-8fb78c8ff09c.html.
10
Matt Sledge, 3 Youths in Louisiana Custody Test
Positive for Coronavirus, NOLA.COM (Mar. 27, 2020),
https://www.nola.com/news/coronavirus/article_1
6c1aa6e-7044-11ea-b054-8bc33633446b.html.
11
Lea Skene, Avoyelles Prison Warden Tests Positive
for Coronavirus, Under Quarantine, THE ADVOCATE
(Mar.
27,
2020),
https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/
coronavirus/article_2c8b1d96-7074-11ea-8eb757170ff59a6d.html.
12
Jacqueline Derobertis, Louisiana State Prison
Inmate Tests Positive for Coronavirus; 1st Confirmed
Case at a State Facility, THE ADVOCATE (Mar. 28,
2020),
https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/
coronavirus/article_67ac4350-716e-11ea-8cb56bee98b98550.html.
13
Rachel Thomas, Nick Germillion, & Kiran Chawla,
2 EBR Inmates Test Positive for COVID-19; Wing of
Prison Quarantined, WAFB (Mar. 30, 2020),
https://www.wafb.com/2020/03/31/ebr-inmatetests-positive-covid-after-reported-drugoverdose-wing-prison-quarantined/.

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

59

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

14

Lea Skene, Inmates at Two Louisiana State Prisons
Have Tested Positive for Coronavirus, THE ADVOCATE
(Apr.
1,
2020),
https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/
coronavirus/article_038231d6-7458-11ea-ab41db912b7d629f.html.
15
Letter from Louisiana organizations to Governor
Edwards
(Mar.
16,
2020),
https://www.splcenter.org/sites/default/files/coali
tion_letter_to_governor_edwards_re_covid_19_pre
vention_and_protection_in_louisiana_facilities.pdf.
16
Faith Leaders Across Louisiana Urge Governor to
Use Emergency Powers for Release of Detainees,
WGNO
(Apr.
9,
2020),
https://wgno.com/news/faith-leaders-acrosslouisiana-urge-governor-to-use-emergencypowers-for-release-of-detainees/.
17
DOC Confirms Angola Staff Member Died from
COVID-19-related Complications, WAFB (Apr. 10,
https://www.wafb.com/2020/04/10/doc2020),
confirms-angola-staff-member-died-covidrelated-complications/.
18
Inmate at Louisiana State Penitentiary Succumbs to
COVID-19,
WBRZ
(Apr.
20,
2020),
https://www.wbrz.com/news/inmate-at-louisianastate-penitentiary-succumbs-to-covid-19/.
19
Lea Skene, Coronavirus Hits Louisiana Prisons:
Medical director, head warden, first state inmate die,
THE
ADVOCATE
(Apr.
20,
2020),
https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/
coronavirus/article_697c5eb6-8354-11ea-a2059726a420e972.html.
20
Sledge, supra note 7.
21
Keri Blakinger & Keegan Hamilton, “I Begged
Them to Let Me Die”: How Federal Prisons Became
Coronavirus Death Traps, MARSHALL PROJECT (June 18,
2020),
https://www.themarshallproject.org/2020/06/18/i
-begged-them-to-let-me-die-how-federal-prisonsbecame-coronavirus-death-traps.
22
Sarah Turberville & Katherine Hawkins, Pretrial
Detention in a Pandemic, POGO (June 23, 2020),
https://www.pogo.org/analysis/2020/06/pretrialdetention-in-a-pandemic/; Tom Jawetz & Nicole

Prchal Svajlenka, Data on the Coronavirus Outbreak
in Immigration Detention Offer More Questions than
Answers, CTR. FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS (June 16,
2020),
https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/immigra
tion/news/2020/06/16/486338/data-coronavirusoutbreak-immigration-detention-offer-questionsanswers/.
23
Blakinger, supra note 21.
24
Kimberly Kindy, An Explosion of Coronavirus Cases
Cripples a Federal Prison in Louisiana, WASH. POST
(Mar.
29,
2020),
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/anexplosion-of-coronavirus-cases-cripples-afederal-prison-inlouisiana/2020/03/29/75a465c0-71d5-11ea85cb-8670579b863d_story.html.
25
Id.
26
Joseph Neff and Keri Blakinger, Federal Prison
Agency “Put Staff in Harm’s Way” of Coronavirus,
MARSHALL
PROJECT
(Apr.
3,
2020),
https://www.themarshallproject.org/2020/04/03/f
ederal-prisons-agency-put-staff-in-harm-s-wayof-coronavirus.
27
Janet Reitman, Something is Going to Explode:
When Coronavirus Strikes a Prison, NEW YORK TIMES
(Apr.
28,
2020),
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/18/magazine/
oakdale-federal-prison-coronavirus.html.
28
Id.
29
Id.
30
Id.
31
Kindy, supra note 24.
32
Reitman, supra note 27.
33
Sarah N. Lynch, Second Inmate at Louisiana’s
Oakdale Prison Dies from Coronavirus Illness, Official
Says, U.S. NEWS (Apr. 1, 2020); Louisiana COVID-19
in Detention, World Peace Foundation (June 12,
2020), https://sites.tufts.edu/wpf/louisiana-covid19-in-detention/.
34
Neff, supra note 26.
35
Reitman, supra note 27.
36
Sarah N. Lynch, Third Inmate at Louisiana’s
Oakdale Prison Has Died From Coronavirus: Official,

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

60

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT (Apr. 1, 2020),
https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/202004-01/second-inmate-at-louisianas-oakdaleprison-has-died-of-covid-19-official-says.
37
Neff, supra note 26.
38
Sadie Gurman et al., Coronavirus puts a Prison
Under Siege, WALL ST. J. (Apr. 6, 2020),
https://www.wsj.com/articles/inside-oakdaleprison-our-sentences-have-turned-into-deathsentences-11586191030.
39
Michael Balsamo, Federal Prison Left Inmates with
Virus in Housing for a Week, AP NEWS (Nov. 17, 2020),
https://apnews.com/article/politics-healthprisons-louisiana-coronavirus-pandemic95dbb1d1c432fb11ddfb0945fde002a3.
40
Matt Sledge, Federal Inmate Advocates Plead for
Releases in face of four Deaths at Oakdale Prison,
NOLA.COM
(Apr.
1,
2020),
https://www.nola.com/news/coronavirus/article_d
3da9994-744f-11ea-8e3c9bf837415977.amp.html; Gurman, supra note 38.
41
Kimberly Kindy, Inside the deadliest federal prison,
the seeping coronavirus creates fear and danger,
WASH.
POST
(Apr.
10,
2020),
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/insidethe-deadliest-federal-prison-the-seepingcoronavirus-creates-fear-anddanger/2020/04/09/deeceb6e-75b4-11ea-a9bd9f8b593300d0_story.html.
42
Kevin Johnson, Coronavirus Outbreak: Hundreds of
Infected, Quarantined Inmates in Prisons and Jails
Challenging Officials, USA TODAY (Apr. 9, 2020),
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/20
20/04/09/coronavirus-hits-workers-inmates-jailsprisons-threatened/2968807001/.
43
Reitman, supra note 27.
44
Id.
45
Id.
46
Livas v. Myers, 1:20-cv-00422 (W.D. La. Apr. 6,
2020).
47
Mem. in Support of Petitioners’ Emergency
Motion for Release of Vulnerable and Low-Risk
Prisoners from Oakdale, Livas v. Myers, 1:20-cv00422 (W.D. La. Apr. 13, 2020), available at

https://clearinghouse.net/chDocs/public/PC-LA0019-0004.pdf.
48
Reitman, supra note 27.
49
Id.
50
Bill Hutchinson, Jammed together like sardines:
ACLU seeks restraining order against feds to avoid
COVID-19 prison outbreak horror, ABC NEWS (Apr. 13,
2020)
https://abcnews.go.com/US/jammedsardines-aclu-seeks-restraining-order-fedsavoid/story?id=70117636.
51
Id.
52
Keri Blakinger and Joseph Neff, Thousands of Sick
Federal Prisoners Sought Compassionate Release. 98
Percent Were Denied., MARSHALL PROJECT (Oct. 7,
2020),
https://www.themarshallproject.org/2020/10/07/t
housands-of-sick-federal-prisoners-soughtcompassionate-release-98-percent-were-denied.
53
Nicholas Chrastil, Oakdale Inmate dies from
COVID-19 two days after Scheduled Release, LENS
NOLA
(May
12,
2020),
https://thelensnola.org/2020/05/12/oakdaleinmate-dies-from-covid-19-two-days-afterscheduled-release/.
54
Id.
55
Id.
56
Josh Gerstein, Virus-Wracked Federal Prisons Again
Expand Release Criteria, POLITICO (Apr. 11, 2020),
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/11/feder
al-prison-release-criteria-coronavirus-179835.
57
Sadie Gurman, Warden at Prison Besieged by
Coronavirus is Reassigned, WALL ST. J. (May 22, 2020),
https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/warden-atprison-besieged-by-coronavirus-is-reassigned11590189740.
58
Id.; Rachel Penton, Bureau of Prisons removed Rod
Myers as warden of Federal Correctional Intitution in
Oakdale,
KALB
(May
22,
2020),
https://www.kalb.com/content/news/Bureau-ofPrisons-removes-Rod-Myers-as-warden-ofOakdale-Correctional-Institute-570701811.html.
59
Nicholas Chrastil, Oakdale Federal Prison Resumes
and Expands COVID-19 Testing, LENS NOLA (May 18,
2020),

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

61

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

74

https://thelensnola.org/2020/05/18/oakdalefederal-prison-resumes-and-expands-covid-19testing/.
60
Id.
61
Alan Gomez, Maria Clark, and Rebecca Plevin,
‘Terrified of Dying’: Immigrants beg to be Released
from Immigration Detention as Coronavirus Spreads,
USA
TODAY
(Apr.
7,
2020),
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/202
0/04/07/covid-19-hits-ice-detention-migrantssay-they-cant-clean-stay-safe/2953170001/.
62
Matthew Segura, ICE: Detainee dies at Richwood
Correctional Center, KNOE (Oct. 16, 2019),
https://www.knoe.com/content/news/ICEDetainee-dies-at-Richwood-Correctional-Center563233822.html.
63
Gomez, supra note 61.
64
Noah Lanard, The Women Asked ICE for Soap. They
Got Pepper-Sprayed Instead., MOTHER JONES (Apr. 22,
2020), https://www.motherjones.com/coronavirusupdates/2020/04/ice-pepper-spray-lasalle/
(providing stories from the women in their own
words).
65
Matt Clarke, LaSalle Corrections: A Family-Run
Prison Firm, PRISON LEGAL NEWS (Feb. 15, 2013),
https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/2013/feb/
15/lasalle-corrections-a-family-run-prison-firm/.
66
Noah Lanard, ICE Detainees Terrified of the
Coronavirus Wanted to be Deported. Guards PepperSprayed Them, MOTHER JONES (Apr. 23, 2020),
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/04/ic
e-detainees-terrified-of-the-coronavirus-wantedto-be-deported-guards-pepper-sprayed-them/.
67
Id.
68
Id.
69
Id.
70
Noah Lanard, “Don’t Give Up”: A Woman’s Fight to
Save Her Brother From a COVID-Plagued ICE Jail,
MOTHER
JONES
(June
15,
2020),
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/06/c
ovid-ice-jail-immigration-detention/.
71
Id.
72
Id.
73
Id.

Complaint, Gumns v. Edwards, No. 3:20-cv-00231
at 98–99 (M.D. La. Apr. 14, 2020).
75
Kiran Chawla, Dept. of Corrections Taking Steps to
Minimize Spread of COVID-19 in Prisons, WAFB (Apr.
7, 2020), https://www.wafb.com/2020/04/07/deptcorrections-taking-steps-minimize-spread-covidprisons/.
76
Tana Ganeva, Report from Inside Angola Prison
Paints a Troubling Picture as Coronavirus Grips
Louisiana, THE APPEAL (Apr. 10, 2020),
https://theappeal.org/report-from-inside-angolaprison-paints-a-troubling-picture-as-coronavirusgrips-louisiana/.
77
COVID-19 Inmate Positives, Louisiana Department
of
Public
Safety
and
Corrections,
https://web.archive.org/web/20201001041646/htt
ps://doc.louisiana.gov/doc-covid-19-testing/ (last
visited Dec. 8, 2020).
78
Nicholas Chrastil, Louisiana Prison Medical
Director Steps Down, LENS NOLA (Apr. 17, 2020),
https://thelensnola.org/2020/04/17/louisianaprison-medical-director-steps-down/.
79
Cindy Chang, Many doctors treating state’s
prisoners have disciplinary records themselves, TIMESPICAYUNE
(Jul.
29,
2012),
https://www.nola.com/news/crime_police/article_
98a136d7-c201-5b55-a7f5-5428b4be1439.html.
80
Jacqueline Derobertis, Louisiana State Prison
Inmate Tests Positive for Coronavirus; 1st Confirmed
Case at a State Facility, THE ADVOCATE (Mar. 28,
2020),
https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/
coronavirus/article_67ac4350-716e-11ea-8cb56bee98b98550.html.
81
Daryl Khan, Desperate Louisiana Prisoners Say
Wardens, Staff Not Following Coronavirus Rules, JJIE
(Apr.
27,
2020),
https://jjie.org/2020/04/27/desperate-louisianaprisoners-say-wardens-staff-not-followingcoronavirus-rules/.
82
Id.
83
Id.
84
Anat Rubin et al., Inside the U.S.’s Largest
Maximum-Security Prison, COVID-19 Raged. Outside,

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

62

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

105

Officials Called Their Fight a Success, PROPUBLICA
(June
24,
2020),
https://www.propublica.org/article/inside-the-usslargest-maximum-security-prison-covid-19-raged.
85
Id.
86
Id.
87
Id.
88
Id.
89
Id.
90
Id.
91
Id.
92
Id.
93
Id.
94
Id.
95
Id.
96
Id.
97
Id.
98
Id.
99
Alie Brussel Faria, MOURNING OUR LOSSES,
https://www.mourningourlosses.org/memorials/mi
chael-williams?rq=louisiana.
100
Lea Skene, After Louisiana Women’s Prison
Flooded in 2016, Temporary Dorms Inundated with
Coronavirus, THE ADVOCATE (June 7, 2020),
https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/
coronavirus/article_ed45ea90-a696-11ea-a89d8b66acee5f8f.html.
101
Krystin Roehl and Jesse Kelley, Incarcerated
Women: Forgotten Victims of COVID-19, THE CRIME
REPORT
(June
19,
2020),
https://thecrimereport.org/2020/06/19/incarcerat
ed-women-forgotten-victims-of-covid-19/.
102
Lea Skene, Louisiana’s Longest Serving Female
Inmate Hospitalized with Coronavirus While
Clemency Request Stalls, THE ADVOCATE (Apr. 22,
2020),
https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/
coronavirus/article_d60d1896-84de-11ea-a373a734e11b21f8.html.
103
Id.
104
Anaheed Mobaraki, MOURNING OUR LOSSES,
https://www.mourningourlosses.org/memorials/do
rothy-pierre?rq=louisiana.

Nicholas Chrastil, COVID-19 Death Reported at
Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women, THE LENS
(Apr.
24,
2020),
https://thelensnola.org/2020/04/24/covid-19death-reported-at-louisiana-correctionalinstitute-for-women/.
106
Mobaraki, supra note 104.
107
Chrastil, supra note 105.
108
Id.
109
Associated Press, Nearly Entire Dorm at Elayn
Hunt Tests Positive for Virus, WBRZ (May 5, 2020),
https://www.wbrz.com/news/nearly-entirelouisiana-prison-dorm-at-elayn-hunt-testspositive-forvirus?fbclid=IwAR2qU5O8gIDnQAKXpfJIcno3Tynw2XzBgslOMtf5QwnY1qho4Mt3u2gud0
.
110
Id.
111
Lea Skene, After Flooding, Women’s Prison
Dorms Inundated with Coronavirus, THE ADVOCATE
(June
8,
2020),
https://www.govtech.com/em/safety/AfterFlooding-Womens-Prison-Dorms-Inundated-withCoronavirus.html.
112
Id.
113
Id.
114
Id.
115
Id.
116
Id.
117
Victoria Law, Louisiana’s Longest Serving
Incarcerated Woman Returned to Prison After Being
Hospitalized for COVID-19, THE APPEAL (May 14,
2020), https://theappeal.org/louisianas-longestserving-incarcerated-woman-returned-to-prisonafter-being-hospitalized-for-covid-19/.
118
Lea Skene, Coronavirus Deaths in Louisiana
Prisons Include Woman, Age 47, Convicted of Drug
Possession, THE ADVOCATE (May 13, 2020),
https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/
coronavirus/article_4472783e-9552-11ea-bd877ffb01b0d790.html.
119
Id.
120
COVID-19 Inmate Positives, supra note 77.

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

63

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

130

121

Gov. Edwards Names Acting Deputy Secretary for
the Office of Juvenile Justice, OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
(Mar.
25,
2020),
https://gov.louisiana.gov/index.cfm/newsroom/det
ail/2434.
122
The Associated Press, Louisiana names new
leader of juvenile justice department, THE ADVOCATE
(Mar.
26,
2020),
https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/
politics/article_741c882e-6f9e-11ea-b95787ea5616a441.html.
123
Gov. Edwards Appoints a New Deputy Secretary to
the Office of Juvenile Justice, OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
(Aug.
7,
2020),
https://gov.louisiana.gov/index.cfm/newsroom/det
ail/2629#:~:text=John%20Bel%20Edwards%20ann
ounced%20the,Louisiana%20Office%20of%20Juve
nile%20Justice.
124
Complaint, J.H. v. Edwards, No. 3:20-cv-00293 at
30 (M.D. La. May 14, 2020).
125
Id. at 21.
126
Shannon Barbour, Life Is Excruciating Enough for
Mothers of Incarcerated Children. The Pandemic
Makes It Impossible: Three Louisiana mothers explain
why they’re suing the Office of Juvenile Justice and
how they’re surviving in the meantime, COSMOPOLITAN
(Aug.
25,
2020),
https://www.cosmopolitan.com/politics/a3363721
1/incarcerated-children-pandemic-covid/.
127
J.H. v. Edwards, No. 3:20-cv-00293 (M.D. La. May
14, 2020).
128
Id. at 25–26.
129
Matt Sledge, Free youths from prisons during
coronavirus pandemic, advocates say in lawsuit,
NOLA.COM
(May
14,
2020),
https://www.nola.com/news/coronavirus/article_8
a3bea1e-962c-11ea-9198-2f3fec2ba861.html;
Tyler Kingkade, Louisiana parents sue to get children
out of juvenile detention as coronavirus spreads, NBC
NEWS
(May
14,
2020),
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/usnews/louisiana-parents-sue-get-children-outjuvenile-detention-coronavirus-spreadsn1207196.

Sledge, supra note 129.
Matt Sledge, Federal judge denies request to free
Louisiana youth prisoners because of coronavirus
outbreak,
NOLA.COM
(July
4,
2020),
https://www.nola.com/news/coronavirus/article_5
cb01eac-bcb1-11ea-abbd-e77f8359a275.html.
132
Id.
133
Barbour, supra note 126.
134
OJJ COVID-19 Information, OFFICE OF JUVENILE
JUSTICE, https://ojj.la.gov/ojj-covid-19-information/
(last visited Dec. 8, 2020).
135
Lea Skene, Latest coronavirus outbreak behind
bars is at Louisiana prison that holds dialysis patients,
THE
ADVOCATE
(Aug.
28,
2020),
https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/
coronavirus/article_97b922b4-e97a-11ea-8cda3f8a9b007a06.html.
136
Id.
137
Local Jails: The real scandal is the churn, PRISON
POLICY
INITIATIVE,
https://www.prisonpolicy.org/graphs/pie2019_jail_
churn.html.
138
JUNE LA. COVID-19 HEALTH EQUITY TASK FORCE
REPORT
8
(June
2020),
available
at
https://www.sus.edu/assets/sus/LAHealthEquityTa
skForce/June-COVID-Task-Force-SubcommitteeReports.pdf?fbclid=IwAR00GlvB8HrmW_Lo1YQoyF
a0SfV9o-B3uAINdJ9dRdfGj3LnyUQHsH0jbyI.
139
Briefing Book, supra note 5, at 18.
140
Nicholas Chrastil, After Expanded Testing, New
Orleans Jail Sees Spike in Confirmed Coronavirus
Cases,
LENS
NOLA
(Apr.
22,
2020),
https://thelensnola.org/2020/04/22/afterexpanded-testing-new-orleans-jail-sees-spike-inconfirmed-coronavirus-cases/.
141
Id.
142
Id.
143
Matt Sledge, Second New Orleans Deputy, Veteran
Supervisor at Jail, Dies from Coronavirus, NOLA.COM
(Apr.
29,
2020),
https://www.nola.com/news/coronavirus/article_1
53a8622-8a5a-11ea-a967-bb37cb15f245.html;
Matt Sledge, First New Orleans Deputy to Die of
Coronavirus was ‘One to Open her Home’, NOLA.COM
131

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

64

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

(Apr.
28,
2020),
https://www.nola.com/news/coronavirus/article_7
5765212-8999-11ea-a54f-bb8d7c855c61.html/.
144
Nicholas Chrastil, Public Defenders Request the
Release of All Non-Violent Offenders in Jail due to
Coronavirus, LENS NOLA (Mar. 12, 2020),
https://thelensnola.org/2020/03/12/publicdefenders-request-the-release-of-all-non-violentoffenders-in-jail-due-to-coronavirus/.
145
Richard A. Webster et al., New Orleans police are
jailing people for minor offenses even as the city
becomes a covid-19 hotspot, WASH. POST (Mar. 31,
2020),
https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/n
ew-orleans-police-are-jailing-people-for-minoroffenses-even-as-the-city-becomes-a-covid-19hotspot/2020/03/31/e2183dd8-71eb-11ea-85cb8670579b863d_story.html.
146
Mark Stern, New Orleans Prosecutors Argue the
Coronavirus is a Reason to Keep People in Jail, SLATE
(Mar. 18, 2020), https://slate.com/news-andpolitics/2020/03/new-orleans-prosecutors-jailcoronavirus.html.
147
Sarah Stillman, Will The Coronavirus Make Us
Rethink Mass Incarceration?, THE NEW YORKER (May
18,
2020)
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/05/2
5/will-the-coronavirus-make-us-rethink-massincarceration.
148
Nicholas Chrastil, Amid Coronavirus Fears, Public
Defenders Petition Judges to Order Release of HighRisk Inmates; Sheriff Joins in Call for More Releases,
LENS
NOLA
(Mar.
25,
2020),
https://thelensnola.org/2020/03/25/publicdefenders-office-petitions-judges-to-orderrelease-of-inmates-at-high-risk-of-complicationsdeath-from-coronavirus/.
149
Matt Sledge and Lea Skene, As Death Count
Grows, Louisiana Prisons and Jails Grapple with
Coronavirus Spread, NOLA.COM (Apr. 25, 2020),
https://www.nola.com/news/coronavirus/article_a
261bbb8-8728-11ea-9a1f-6bc823fbe5db.html.
150
Nicholas Chrastil, Detainees in New Orleans,
Stuck in Jail on Parole Holds, Struggle to Find Legal

Recourse,
LENS NOLA
(Apr.
16,
2020),
https://thelensnola.org/2020/04/16/detainees-innew-orleans-stuck-in-jail-on-parole-holdsstruggle-to-find-legal-recourse/.
151
Id.
152
Matt Sledge, Coronavirus Cases Spike at New
Orleans Jail, Raising Advocates’ Fears About New
Outbreak,
NOLA.COM
(May
20,
2020),
https://www.nola.com/news/coronavirus/article_a
59d376e-9aef-11ea-996d-276b5a323e8d.html.
153
Charles Maldonado, Sheriff’s Office: No positive
COVID-19 cases among inmates in city jail, THE LENS
(June
18,
2020),
https://thelensnola.org/2020/06/18/sheriffsoffice-no-positive-covid-19-cases-amonginmates-in-city-jail/.
154
Matt Sledge, Young Father who Died at New
Orleans Jail was Positive for Coronavirus, Coroner
Says,
NOLA.COM
(June
30,
2020),
https://www.nola.com/news/crime_police/article_
e13c90a4-bae2-11ea-9c75-c30d303fc35b.html.
155
Id.
156
Matt Sledge, Coronavirus jail will cost $9.3 million
under Orleans Sheriff Marlin Gusman’s plan FEMA
says,
NOLA.COM
(Aug.
14,
2020),
https://www.nola.com/news/coronavirus/article_0
7824efe-de45-11ea-be74-6b982381afb1.html.
157
Id.
158
Paul Braun, Louisiana Considers Early Release of
Some Inmates Among Measures to Reduce COVID-19
Outbreak,
WWNO
(Mar.
17,
2020),
https://www.wwno.org/post/louisiana-considersearly-release-some-inmates-among-measuresreduce-covid-19-outbreak.
159
East Baton Rouge Prison quarantining 94 inmates
after one tests positive for COVID-19, WBRZ (Mar. 30,
2020), https://www.wbrz.com/news/east-batonrouge-prison-quarantining-94-inmates-after-onetests-positive-for-covid-19/.
160
Lea Skene, Number of Coronavirus Cases Among
Baton Rouge Jail Inmates Climbs to 53, Sheriff’s Office
Says,
THE
ADVOCATE
(Apr.
16,
2020),
https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

65

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

coronavirus/article_49eca0e4-8028-11ea-8a5aab5bc7534c4c.html.
161
Id.
162
Lea Skene, Baton Rouge Jail Population Hits 10Year Low Amid Efforts to Combat Coronavirus Spread,
The
ADVOCATE
(Mar.
23,
2020),
https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/
coronavirus/article_7fb7e6f2-6d5e-11ea-b88397717b9dfbce.html.
163
Amended Class Action Complaint, Belton, Jr. v.
Gautreaux, No. 3:20-cv-000278 ¶ 5 (M.D. La. May
26, 2020).
164
Press Release, Center for Constitutional Rights
Civil Rights Organizations Sue East Baton Rouge
Parish Prison for Immediate Release of Vulnerable
People Ahead of Deadly COVID-Spread (May 27,
https://ccrjustice.org/home/press2020),
center/press-releases/civil-rights-organizationssue-east-baton-rouge-parish-prison.
165
Lea Skene, Lawsuit: Baton Rouge Inmates Seek
Release Due to Coronavirus Risk, Potential ‘Death
Sentence’, THE ADVOCATE (May 27, 2020),
https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/
coronavirus/article_d972c05c-a055-11ea-979d0fd6b011fa75.html.
166
Debunking the myth of no COVID-19 cases in East
Baton Rouge Parish Prison, CENTER FOR
CONSTITUTIONAL
RIGHTS
(Aug.
14,
2020),
https://ccrjustice.org/home/blog/2020/08/24/new
s-debunking-myth-no-covid-19-cases-east-batonrouge-parish-prison.
167
Civil Rights Organizations Debunk Myths of No
COVID-19 Cases in East Baton Rouge Parish Prison,
ADVANCEMENT
PROJECT
(Aug.
19,
2020),
https://advancementproject.org/news/civil-rightsorganizations-debunk-myths-of-no-covid-19cases-in-east-baton-rouge-parish-prison/.
168
Ruling and Order, Belton, Jr. v. Gatreaux, No. 3:20000278 (M.D. La. July 3, 2020).
169
See generally Complaint, Gumns v. Edwards, No.
3:20-cv-00231 at 155–71 (M.D. La. Apr. 14, 2020).
170
Id. at 157–59.
171
Brooke Shelby Biggs, Camp J, Red Hats and the
Hole: Inside Angola’s three circles of solitary-

confinement hell, MOTHER JONES (Mar. 5, 2009),
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2009/03/c
amp-j-redhats-and-hole; Victoria Law, Louisiana
Prisoners Held in Notorious Isolation Unit are Facing
a ‘Slow-Moving Disaster’, THE APPEAL (Apr. 17, 2020),
https://theappeal.org/louisiana-prisoners-held-innotorious-isolation-unit-are-facing-a-slowmoving-disaster/.
172
Law, supra note 171.
173
Interim Guidance on Management of Coronavirus
Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Correctional and
Detention Facilities, CDC (Mar. 23, 2020),
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019ncov/community/correction-detention/guidancecorrectional-detention.html; Nicholas Chrastil, The
Louisiana
Department
of
Health
issued
recommendations on how to stop the spread of
coronavirus in prisons – then rescinded them, LENS
NOLA
(Apr.
13,
2020),
https://thelensnola.org/2020/04/13/the-louisianadepartment-of-health-issuedrecommendationson-how-to-stop-the-spread-ofcoronavirus-in-prisons-then-rescinded-them/.
174
Emily Lane, Louisiana Plans to House Local and
State Inmates with Coronavirus at Angola and Allen
Correctional,
WDSU
(Mar.
27,
2020),
https://www.wdsu.com/article/louisiana-plans-tohouse-inmates-with-coronavirus-at-angola-andanother-prison/31960114.
175
Complaint, Gumns v. Edwards, No. 3:20-cv00231, at 124 (M.D. La. Apr. 14, 2020).
176
Id. at 108.
177
Id. at 121, 125–34.
178
Id. at 139, 140.
179
Id. at 145–47.
180
See generally id.
181
Nicholas Chrastil, Lawsuit Filings Reveal New
Details About Use of Angola Facility to House
Coronavirus Patients, LENS NOLA (May 6, 2020),
https://thelensnola.org/2020/05/06/lawsuitfilings-reveal-new-details-about-use-of-angolafacility-to-house-coronavirus-patients/.
182
Id.

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

66

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

197

183

Melinda Deslatte, Edwards Worries About
Backsliding as Virus Deaths Top 1,000, AP NEWS (Apr.
14,
2020),
https://apnews.com/34371f85535d746e0b2fcde8
90a16e93; Kevin Foster, Class Action Lawsuit Filed
Over COVID-19 Positive Prisoners Being Brought to
Angola,
WAFB
(Apr.
16,
2020),
https://www.wafb.com/2020/04/16/class-actionlawsuit-filed-over-covid-positive-prisoners-beingbrought-angola/.
184
Deslatte, supra note 183.
185
Nicholas Chrastil, DOC to Suspend Prisoner
Release Program as State Enters Phase Two of
Reopening, LENS NOLA (June 3, 2020),
https://thelensnola.org/2020/06/03/doc-tosuspend-prisoner-release-program-as-stateenters-phase-two-of-reopening/.
186
Lea Skene, Panel meant to reduce Louisiana
prison population during pandemic has negligible
impact — 0.2%, THE ADVOCATE (June 30, 2020),
https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/
coronavirus/article_39acdb9a-ba3e-11ea-ac28df318eb8fe9b.html.
187
Data on file with PJI.
188
H.R. 37, 2020 Second Extraordinary Sess. (La.
2020),
https://legis.la.gov/legis/BillInfo.aspx?i=239713.
189
Rosemary Westwood, Q&A: COVID-19 Health
Equity Task Force Co-Chair Talks Racial Disparities in
Louisiana,
WWNO
(June
25,
2020),
https://www.wwno.org/post/qa-covid-19-healthequity-task-force-co-chair-talks-racial-disparitieslouisiana.
190
JUNE LA. COVID-19 HEALTH EQUITY TASK FORCE
REPORT, supra note 138.
191
Id. at 3.
192
AUGUST LA. COVID-19 HEALTH EQUITY TASK FORCE,
SUBCOMMITTEE
REPORT
(Aug.
2020),
https://www.sus.edu/assets/LaCOVID/AUGUSTCOVID-Task-Force-Subcommittee-Reports.pdf.
193
Rubin, supra note 84.
194
Id.
195
Id.
196
Id.

Id.
Sledge, supra note 149.
199
Lester Duhé, Former inmates deliver masks to
prisons, jails across Louisiana, WAFB9 (Apr 24, 2020),
https://www.wafb.com/2020/04/24/formerinmates-deliver-masks-prisons-jails-acrosslouisiana/; Khan, supra note 81.
200
Rubin, supra note 84.
201
Id.
202
Armstrong, supra note Error! Bookmark not d
efined..
203
Sledge, supra note 149.
204
Id.
205
Khan, supra note 81.
206
Rubin, supra note 84.
207
JUNE LA. COVID-19 HEALTH EQUITY TASK FORCE
REPORT, supra note 138, at 7.
208
Rubin, supra note 84.
209
Jerry Iannelli, Video Captures Poor Conditions at
Louisiana Poultry Plant Where Prisoners are Sent to
Work,
THE
APPEAL
(May
28,
2020),
https://theappeal.org/louisiana-poultry-plantprison-labor/.
210
Jerry Iannelli, ‘That Man Can’t Breathe’, THE
APPEAL
(Apr.
16,
2020),
https://theappeal.org/baton-rouge-sheriffchoking/.
211
Id.
212
Iannelli, supra note 209.
213
Id.
214
Rubin, supra note 84.
215
Matt Sledge, Louisiana prisons lag in inmate
releases as coronavirus spreads behind bars,
NOLA.COM
(Mar.
31,
2020),
https://www.nola.com/news/coronavirus/article_1
1c54f08-739f-11ea-b290-4b2c1a651506.html.
216
Radley Balko, Opinion, A Judge isn’t Allowing
Drug Users to be Released from Jail Because of their
‘Hygiene’, WASH. POST. (Mar. 26, 2020),
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/
03/26/louisiana-judge-says-drug-users-are-toodirty-be-released-jail/.
217
Id.
218
Id.
198

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

67

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

219

Stern, supra note 146.
Id.
221
NIH Leadership, Why COVID-19 testing is the key
to getting back to normal, NAT’L INST. ON AGING (Sept.
4, 2020), https://www.nia.nih.gov/news/whycovid-19-testing-key-getting-back-normal.
222
Julie O’Donoghue, Forty-two percent of Louisiana
inmates tested have been positive for COVID-19, LA.
ILLUMINATOR
(July
12,
2020),
https://lailluminator.com/2020/07/12/fortypercent-of-louisiana-inmate-covid-19-tests-arepositive-experts-say-thats-too-high/.
223
Id.
224
COVID-19 Inmate Positives, supra note 77.
225
Henry Njuguna et al., Serial Laboratory Testing
for SARS-CoV-2 Infection Among Incarcerated and
Detained Persons in Correctional and Detention
Facility—Louisiana, April–May 2020, 69 MORBIDITY
AND MORTALITY WEEKLY REPORT 836, 836 (July 3,
2020),
available
at
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/pdfs/
mm6926e2-H.pdf.
226
Id. at 838.
227
Id.
228
LABEOC Message for 03.16.20, LA. BUS. EMERGENCY
OPERATIONS
CTR.
(Mar.
16,
2020),
https://www.labeoc.org/alerts/Alert_Details.aspx?i
d=1417.
229
COVID-19 Inmate Positives, supra note 77 (PJI has
archived data from the DOC’s COVID-19 Inmate
Positives web page).
230
Sledge, supra note 149.
231
Id.
232
Tim Ryan, Supreme Court Denies Appeal From
Louisiana Inmate Over Coronavirus, Courthouse News
Service
(May
29,
2020),
https://www.courthousenews.com/supreme-courtdenies-appeal-from-louisiana-inmate-overcoronavirus/.
233
Id.
234
Staff Reports, Bickham named new warden at
Rayburn Correctional Center, THE DAILY NEWS (Aug.
21,
2020)
https://www.bogalusadailynews.com/2020/08/21/
220

bickham-named-new-warden-at-rayburncorrectional-center/.
235
Skene, supra note 19.
236
Charles Lussier, Louisiana inmates are using
donated supplies to make hand sanitizer as
coronavirus spreads, THE ADVOCATE (Apr. 2, 2020),
https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/
coronavirus/article_98081a40-74ea-11ea-b3672774f5090b74.html.
237
Id.
238
Franklin Parish Detention Center, LA. DEP’T OF
PUBLIC
SAFETY
AND
CORRECTIONS,
https://doc.louisiana.gov/location/franklin-parishdetention-center/ (last visited Dec. 9, 2020).
239
Ashley Mott, 3 in Franklin Parish test positive for
coronavirus, MONROE NEWS STAR (Mar. 25, 2020),
https://www.thenewsstar.com/story/news/2020/0
3/25/coronavirus-3-franklin-parish-test-positivecovid-19/5084243002/.
240
Chrastil, supra note 140.
241
Ashley Mott, Half of NELA parishes report 100 or
more COVID-19 cases, MONROE NEWS STAR (May 10,
2020),
https://www.thenewsstar.com/story/news/2020/0
5/10/half-nela-parishes-report-100-more-covid19-cases/3105665001/.
242
Chris McCrory, Coronavirus Found in St. Tammany
Jail, Inmates Quarantined, WWL (Apr. 18, 2020),
https://www.wwltv.com/article/news/health/coron
avirus/st-tammany-jail-coronavirus/289498ab474-a826-44dd-af20-2dd01caea9e4.
243
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning, CDC (Oct. 16, 2016),
https://ephtracking.cdc.gov/showCoRisk.action.
244
World Health Org., Coronavirus disease 19
(COVID-19) Situation Report—46 at 2 (Mar. 6, 2020),
who.int/docs/defaultsource/coronaviruse/situation-reports/20200306sitrep-46-covid-19.pdf.
245
Matt Sledge, Nearly half of St. Charles Parish jail
inmates have caught coronavirus, officials say,
NOLA.COM
(Aug.
11,
2020),
https://www.nola.com/news/coronavirus/article_d
d2e97c0-dc1e-11ea-b7a9-b71d8c2e03c9.html.

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19

68

THE PROMISE OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE

246

Ryan Arena, Prison nearly clear of COVID cases
following July outbreak, HERALD GUIDE (Aug. 31,
2020), https://www.heraldguide.com/news/prison-

nearly-clear-of-covid-cases-following-julyoutbreak/.

PJI | LOCKED IN WITH COVID-19