COVID-19 Jail Depopulation in Colorado: An Unexpected Path Forward

As COVID-19 cases are on the rise in Colorado, the virus remains a serious threat to the health and lives of people living and working behind bars, and surrounding communities. Jails are the ideal breeding ground for COVID-19 due to the heightened vulnerability and health challenges of incarcerated people, the close confinement and lack of social distancing, limited availability of quality healthcare, and dangerous overcrowding. Even with incomplete data, we know that there have been thousands of cases of COVID-19 among incarcerated people and staff, with serious outbreaks in at least seven Colorado jails.1 The risk of sickness or death by COVID-19 is particularly cruel for people held in jail given that most of them are held pre-trial, have not been convicted of a crime, and remain behind bars only because they cannot afford the money bond to get out.