The sign for the Pennsylvania Supreme Court is posted by its door at City Hall in Philadelphia, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019.
Matt Rourke / AP Photo
Pa. Supreme Court won’t grant blanket release of prison inmates; orders review of jails’ ability to ‘address spread of COVID-19’
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Matt Miller/PennLive
Matt Rourke / AP Photo
The sign for the Pennsylvania Supreme Court is posted by its door at City Hall in Philadelphia, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019.
The state Supreme Court on Friday rejected a plea by the Pennsylvania Prison Society to order a blanket release of some grades of prison inmates to protect them from the coronavirus.
The high court did, however, order county president judges to confer with other county officials “to review immediately the current capabilities of the county correctional institutions in their judicial districts to address the spread of COVID-19.”
The Prison Society had petitioned the court to free low-risk offenders to reduce prison populations during the pandemic. Society officials said that would reduce crowding, enhance containment efforts such as social distancing and enhance the safety of both inmates and prison staff.
In ruling on the petition, the justices agreed “the potential outbreak of COVID-19 in the county correctional institutions of this Commonwealth poses an undeniable threat to the health of the inmates, the correctional staff and their families, and the surrounding communities.”
Some coronavirus-related inmate reduction efforts are being pursued in some counties, they noted.
The justices directed president judges to ensure prisons are following social distancing and other prevention measures recommended by state and federal health experts.
In cases where that isn’t possible due to prison crowding, efforts should be made “to identify individuals and/or classes of incarcerated persons for potential release or transfer to reduce the current and future populations of the institutions during this health crisis with careful regard for the safety of victims and their communities in general, with awareness of the statutory rights of victims, and with due consideration given to public health concerns related to inmates who may have contracted COVID-19,” the justices said.
They also directed the president judges to limit the influx of new inmates into the jails.
Chief Justice Thomas G. Saylor issued a concurring opinion stating his belief that Gov. Tom Wolf has the authority to order prisoner releases as an emergency measure.
‘I believe the governor should fashion an appropriate executive order — and/or the General Assembly should enact appropriate legislation — to secure those releases deemed to be necessary by the Health Department and which are consonant with the preservation of public safety and other relevant factors,” Saylor wrote.
Justices Debra Todd, Kevin M. Dougherty and Sallie Updyke Mundy joined in Saylor’s opinion.
The Prison Society request was opposed by victims’ rights advocates.
The Supreme Court decision comes days after a federal judge in Harrisburg ordered the release of about a dozen ICE detainees at the prisons in York, Pike and Clinton counties over coronavirus concerns. The ACLU had presses for the releases, saying those detainees were vulnerable to COVID-19 in the close prison conditions because of their ages and/or health issues.
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