Governor Inslee prepared Saturday to respond to a Washington State Supreme Court ruling regarding the protection of inmates against COVID-19.
Inslee is expected to respond by Monday at noon.
The ruling stems from a worsening situation at Monroe Correctional Complex, where inmates revolted on Wednesday, saying they felt at risk of getting Coronavirus.
Even before that demonstration, prisoners had asked the Washington State Supreme Court for help regarding protections from COVID-19.
Following the emergency motion from inmates, the court ruled Governor Inslee must protect the health of prisoners across the state.
Families of inmates championed that ruling.
“The inmates at Monroe Correctional Complex are already infected,” said April Franklin, wife on a Monroe inmate. “The guards are already infected, so (Coronavirus) is already speaking like wildfire throughout prisons and we need movement now.”
The Governor, along with the head Washington’s Department of Corrections, will now have to detail the steps they’ve taken and will take, to keep inmates safe.
Governor Inslee wrote on Twitter Thursday, “The state is looking into options to reduce the number of people inside state prisons."
At a protest outside the governor’s mansion Saturday, family of inmates said they constantly worry about their loved ones’ health.
“(My husband) has already served 25 years. It’s time for him to come home. It shouldn’t be a death sentence for him,” said Carmella Holt, wife of a Monroe prisoner.
So far, seven inmates and five employees have tested positive at Monroe’s prison.
“Most of them are halfway through their sentences already and they don’t have violent crimes, so freeing those minimum-security units will leave that space that they need,” Franklin told KIRO 7 News.
Despite the lawsuit, the Washington State Supreme Court is not yet ordering the release of inmates from prisons.
Family members, though, hope that’ll soon change.