Federal Court certifies class in lawsuit challenging excessive solitary confinement in Illinois prisons prnewswire.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from prnewswire.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
As COVID-19 vaccination distribution has expanded across the country, incarcerated people remain one of the populations that is both most vulnerable to COVID-19 and most distrustful of medical care, according to several legal advocacy organizations.
Some Chicago-based organizations are working to combat this vaccine hesitancy by distributing public service announcements and educational guides, aimed at providing information to incarcerated individuals to encourage them to get the vaccine. Vaccines are freely available to all incarcerated individuals.
Westside Justice Center created a vaccine FAQ handout as part of its educational campaign, which Executive Director Tanya Woods said has been a collaborative process.
AP Examples of the shrinking services cited by the lawyers include an end to mental health groups and unstructured out-of-cell time at Pontiac.
Isolated in solitary confinement as the pandemic swept through Illinois prisons, inmates diagnosed with mental illness are beyond the breaking point, setting fire to their cells and harming themselves after more than a year without adequate mental health care.
Lawyers for about 12,000 mentally ill inmates have asked a federal judge to order the Illinois Department of Corrections to end the facilitywide lockdowns put in place in March 2020 after COVID-19 spread across the globe. Penal institutions have been hit especially hard by the virus, with jails and prisons seeing high rates of infection among staff and detainees.
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Man who spent 22 years in solitary confinement fights to end the practice I had no idea that I was about to be tortured for decades, Anthony Gay said.
• 7 min read
Former prisoner on mission to change solitary confinement
ABC News’ Linsey Davis speaks with Anthony Gay, who spent 22 years in solitary confinement, and who’s now pushing to change the practice. Bebeto Matthews/AP, FILE
After spending 22 years in solitary confinement, Anthony Gay is trying to make sure no other prisoner in Illinois has to experience the same level of trauma that he went through.
Prioritizing Incarcerated People for Vaccine Quickly Reduced COVID in IL Prisons truthout.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from truthout.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.