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The COVID-19 outbreak in prisons across California is still taking an incredible toll not only on the people inside but on the families and friends of incarcerated people.
And because of the pandemic, our producers on the inside can’t access their recording equipment. So today, you’ll hear from the friends and family outside of prison, reading letters to their loved ones stuck on the inside. Each day that passes one day down and one day closer . it s been 311 days since I last physically saw you. 311 days since I woke up early, did my hair, and got dressed to the nines. 311 days since I last made you lunch at the microwave, prayed with you, embraced your kisses, and of course, beat you at all those card games.
Losing a Loved One Twice: First to Prison, Then to Covid
As the coronavirus swept through prisons across the United States, mourning families were left to navigate grief complicated by stigma and red tape.
Hank Warner, above, usually spoke with his brother, who was incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison, once a week until June.Credit.Jenna Schoenefeld for The New York Times
The calls usually came on Sundays.
Hank Warner of Huntington Beach, Calif., would see a familiar area code pop up on his phone, telling him that his younger brother was on the other end of the line.