Dear Governor Ralph Northam:

Social Action Linking Together (SALT) understands that the governors of various states are considering the use of their emergency powers to reduce prison crowding, in order to mitigate the spread of diseases. We urge you to consider similar action, a step that will surely save lives.

We request that you consider immediately taking the following actions:

1. Release all medically fragile adults, especially adults over the age of 60, to parole supervision. Jails and prisons, as you already know, house many vulnerable people with chronic illnesses and complex medical needs, who are more vulnerable to becoming seriously ill and requiring more medical care with COVID-19. Also, the growing number of older adults in prisons are at higher risk for serious complications from a viral infection like COVID-19. Releasing these vulnerable groups from prison and jail will reduce the need to provide complex medical care or transfers to hospitals when staff will be stretched thin. Those not having families or others that can offer housing should be released to re-entry facilities.
2. Release all having an anticipated release date in 2020 and 2021 to parole supervision. Those having been sentenced for a brief period of incarceration and who would be released soon should be released immediately. This should obviate overcrowding and free up beds in facilities needed to care for the sick. These people are primarily in low-level security.
3. Expedite review processes for those already found suitable for release. For all people found suitable for parole by the Board of Parole Hearings, we ask that you expedite the review process and release these parole candidates. We ask that your office also make available increased resources to address the proposed release process and expeditiously grant approval to all suitable for release.
4. Immediately suspend all unnecessary parole meetings. People deemed “low risk” should not be required to spend hours traveling to and from meetings, particularly on public transportation, and waiting in administrative buildings for brief meetings with their parole officers. As many people as possible should be permitted to check in by telephone. Further, those on parole having been under supervision for three years or longer without having had an arrest within the last 12 months should be discharged from supervision.
5. Eliminate parole revocations for technical violations. Parole officers and others should cease seeking warrants for behavior not warranting incarceration for people not on parole. Reducing these unnecessary incarcerations would reduce the risk of transmitting a virus between the facilities -- jails and prisons -- and the community.
6. Lift all fees for calls to family members. Because VDOC has limited visits to those incarcerated, it is critical for the incarcerated to have the capability to easily communicate with their family members and loved ones. All phone calls made by the incarcerated to their family members and loved ones should be made at no charge during such time when family visits are limited.
7. Insist that VDOC adequately address how they will care for people incarcerated. In addition to taking steps to immediately address overcrowding, all those remaining in custody should receive the medical care required. There is a need for VDOC to release information providing details regarding the exact steps VDOC is taking to prevent infections, the steps being planned to care for those who become ill, and the protocols used. At the very minimum, all the incarcerated must have access to soap and running water. Also, possession of hand sanitizer should be allowed and made widely available. It is critical that medications and treatment be readily available without cost. In addition, all suffering from illness should be cared for by qualified medical staff.

Governor, we know you take seriously your duty to protect the lives of people living and working in VDOC prisons, and we trust you to do the right thing. With all this in mind, we encourage you to take immediate and decisive action now to save lives. We will support you in taking the necessary actions now to protect the health and safety of every Virginian, especially the most vulnerable. Is there any other morally acceptable way to address the dangers facing us at this time in our history?
Virginia should consider taking the steps enumerated above not only because other states are doing it but because it is the right thing to do.
Sincerely,

John Horejsi, Coordinator

Social Action Linking Together (SALT)

9610 Counsellor Dr.

Vienna, VA 22181

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cc: Brian Moran