“I want to thank the director at the Department of Corrections and all the correctional officers and the inmates for their cooperation.”

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“With two Correctional Officers now testing positive for COVID-19 and 71 inmates now scheduled for potential release, is enough being done to reduce the prison population during this pandemic?” Uprise RI asked Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo during Friday’s press conference.

“I think the answer is yes,” replied Governor Raimondo. “Obviously I look at data every day and we change our response every day, but at this point, I want to thank the director at the Department of Corrections and all the correctional officers and the inmates for their cooperation. We have an excellent system in place. We’ve released dozens of people, which gives us the opportunity to have better social distancing, [and] we’ve increased our cleaning. So I would say yes, but like everything, we’ll continue to monitor it.”

See:

• Hundreds attend online rally to convince Governor Raimondo to depopulate prisons
• An open letter to Governor Raimondo and the ACI regarding COVID-19
• First COVID-19 case at ACI will not alter state’s policy
• RI Parole Board reacts to COVID-19 pandemic
• Corrections Director speaks about prison conditions, possible reductions in census under COVID-19
• Reducing prison population not necessary at this time, says Governor Raimondo
• Coalition demands changes to law enforcement and imprisonment in wake of pandemic
• Department of Corrections: Tests for COVID-19 negative
• No confirmed cases of COVID-19 at the ACI
• Virus Cells: The coming coronavirus catastrophe behind bars