COVID-19 Threat Persists In Jails And Prisons, Stalls Court Proceedings

COVID-19 ripped through Maryland’s prisons and jails during the past year, and the danger continues. Ryan King of the Justice Policy Institute calls for proactive testing and ramped-up vaccination. And he highlights the issue of vaccine hesitancy among those behind bars. Read the op-ed coauthored by King and Hopkins epidemiologist Dr. Chris Beyrer here. Then, Baltimore City public defender Todd Oppenheim describes how the pandemic delayed trials and bail hearings, leaving his clients to languish in detention. Oppenheim's recent opinion pieces:I'm a public defender. My elderly client might die in prison from COVID-19Amid a pandemic, defendants are languishing in jail for lack of home detention fundingWhat It’s Like to Be a Public Defender Right NowDo you have a question or comment about a show or a story idea to pitch? Contact On the Record at: Senior Supervising Producer, Maureen Harvie she/her/hers [email protected] 410-235-1903 Senior Producer, Melissa Gerr she/her/hers [email protected] 410-235-1157 Producer Sam Bermas-Dawes he/him/his [email protected] 410-235-1472