As part of a nationwide effort organized by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Rhode Island today filed an Access to Public Records Act (APRA) request with state officials to obtain information about Rhode Island’s plans to address a likely, and potentially catastrophic, outbreak of COVID-19 at the ACI. The APRA request was one of dozens filed across the country by ACLU Affiliates today.
Once COVID-19 is introduced in the prison setting, it can spread very quickly, similar to what Rhode Island has seen happen at nursing homes. This past week, the ACLU of RI successfully obtained the release of three medically vulnerable ICE detainees from the Wyatt Detention Center. At the time the suit was filed, no detainees had tested positive, but in a matter of days, with fewer than 70 detainees tested, 8 turned up positive.
Among the records being sought in the ACLU’s APRA request are:
- Any communications between or among the Governor’s office, the DOC and any other state agency or official, estimating or predicting COVID-19 infection rates and mortality among people living and working in the ACI.
- Any communications between state agencies discussing or recommending any possible actions the Governor or DOC might take to address the risk of COVID-19 for people living and working in the ACI, and the likely outcomes of those actions.
- Any records reviewed or created by the state preceding the outbreak of COVID-19, that evaluated possible outcomes or recommended actions in the event of a potential infectious disease outbreak within the ACI.
Earlier this month, 52 ACI inmates whose release date was less than 90 days away were released early as a result of a RI Supreme Court order. However, no additional formal actions appear to have been taken since then to reduce the ACI’s population to help mitigate spread of the disease, such as expanding medical parole and compassionate release for inmates whose medical conditions make them particularly vulnerable to COVID-19, or continuing with the early release of incarcerated individuals whose release date is only a few months away.
ACLU of RI executive director Steven Brown said today: “Public health experts in Rhode Island and across the country have issued dire warnings about the spread of COVID-19 in the prison setting. Despite those warnings, efforts to reduce the population at the ACI have come to a standstill, and the lack of testing of asymptomatic individuals at the prison leaves everyone in the dark as to the actual prevalence of the virus at the ACI. At the very least, it is crucial for the public to learn what plans, if any, the state has prepared for a potentially lethal outbreak at the prison.”
