Pennsylvania's corrections officers need answers on release of inmates

Editor's note: On April 10, Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association (PSCOA) President Larry Blackwell issued the following statement on Gov. Tom Wolf’s plan to release 1,800 inmates because of the COVID-19 pandemic:

Dear Gov. Wolf:

As you move forward in your planning to address the COVID-19 pandemic, I want to provide you with some concerns we have with the concept of releasing prisoners. While we certainly understand the concept, our primary concern continues to be the ability to accurately identify those inmates who are safe to be released back into our communities. To date, Pennsylvania has shown an inability to do this.

We would ask you to review data from the state Department of Corrections that we’ve previously raised relative to how parolees were being released prior to this pandemic:

Sixty percent of those being paroled in Pennsylvania return to prison within three years.

In 2019, 1,768 violent crimes were committed by parolees.

In 2019, more than 100 parolees committed felonies, including murder.

These numbers are startling and should lead this commonwealth to reexamine its entire parole system, not let more people out.

Pennsylvania must thoroughly review every inmate’s misconduct history. Some inmates have assaulted our officers and were sentenced concurrently for their crime. These inmates have shown themselves to be among the most violent and lack respect for the rule of law. They should not be released.

The plan being considered for how to handle inmates who are released doesn’t seem to be well thought out. We would ask the following questions at a minimum:

Will all facilities they’re being released to have proper licensing and accreditation to handle inmates during this transition?

Are they being sent to facilities near where they used to live? Are they going to areas that have higher rates of COVID-19?

Is there an extensive plan in place for monitoring these inmates? If so, what is it?

Will they be tested for COVID-19? If so, how often? I would imagine inmates who are released back into the public but go on to test positive and possibly spread the illness would have a devastating impact on Pennsylvanians, their loved ones and the commonwealth.

Will those who test positive for COVID-19 be returned to prison?

Do we have the resources to return those to prison who commit new crimes? If so, would they be sent to SCI-Retreat or return to their previous institution?

These are just some of the complex questions that deserve your attention.

PSCOA would like to receive answers to these and reiterate our request to stop all normal prisoner transfers in Pennsylvania. It continues to be dangerous to bring new inmates into our system at a time when they could infect officers, staff and inmates.

Once again, thank you for your leadership. We look forward to receiving answers to our questions. As always, I am happy to discuss these and other corrections issues with you at your convenience.

Stay safe.

Larry Blackwell, President

Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association

The Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association represents more than 10,000 men and women who patrol cellblocks and serve in 26 state correctional institutions and forensic units.