N.C. Claims Fewer Prisoners Died of COVID Than Documents Show
In the final hours of August 2, Billy Bingham lay alone in his cell, silent except for the sounds of his short, shallow breaths. Thirty-four minutes after midnight, he was dead. Paramedics arrived at the Albemarle Correctional Institute, a state prison in central North Carolina, too late to take him to the hospital, and instead called the time of death and left. A prison official called his uncle, who would wake up to a voicemail sharing the news.
Binghamâs story is not unique. A
North Carolina Health News investigation in partnership with
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Assistant Professor Taleed El-Sabawi
An Elon Law faculty member was a featured guest on a recent podcast produced by Carolina Public Press focused on outbreaks of COVID-19 in state prisons and why advocates are seeking court intervention to address concerns arising from the pandemic.
Assistant Professor Taleed El-Sabawi spoke with host Stephanie Carson for a January episode of “The Kicker.” She was joined in the podcast by Jordan Wilkie, a reporter at Carolina Public Press, and Leah Kang, a staff attorney at the ACLU of North Carolina.
On Jan. 20, vaccinations began for state prisoners and staff. While the vaccine will provide much-needed protection for those who are incarcerated, prisons remain too crowded for social distancing and some say a history of distrust could impact incarcerated people's willingness to get vaccinated.
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Updated December 13, 2020 4:49 p.m. EST
By Ali Ingersoll, WRAL investigative data reporter
North Carolina is one of a handful of states prioritizing people in prisons to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
In the state s vaccination plan, those incarcerated will receive the vaccine either in phases 1B or 2, depending on their age and if they have underlying health conditions. That s because they re at a much higher risk of contracting the virus.
More than one in every ten people in North Carolina state prisons has tested positive for COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. That s significantly higher than the state s average, which is around 4 percent.