Harris County Jail operates the Harris County Jail in downtown Houston and the Joint Processing Center. The Harris County Sheriff provides correctional services to the City of Houston. The Harris County Sheriff has taken the following actions to control COVID-19 infections within the prison.
- The first measure is to deny infected people access.
- Screening questions for everyone who enters the center and a doctor decides whether they will be admitted to the center or admitted directly to the hospital.
- Internal testing completed
- Quarantine Measures: Four units within the prison earmarked for quarantine
- Personnel dedicated only to these areas
- ) Staff and inmates are promptly tested and treated
- Routine germicidal mopping and wall cleaning.
- Incorporation of PPE, masks and hand washing. Greater germicidal cleaning.
- In-person visits were suspended to minimize spread at the facility on March 14, 2020.
- Compassionate Release Program
- 1,500 inmates were released in March and April to reduce the population (often people who could not afford bail, and this was tied to current reform efforts for deposits together). Governor Abbott suppressed all mercy releases through an executive order on March 30 that created confusion and effectively halted all mercy releases (The Interceptor).
- The City and Release Policy was signed into law by the Mayor of the City of Houston on September 28, 2020 with the intention of preventing low-level inmates from being incarcerated (McGuinness, 2020; Harab & Debenedetto, 2020). While this was suggested last year and before the COVID-19 pandemic, approximately 3,000 people would not have been incarcerated during the COVID-19 pandemic had it already existed (Harab & Debenedetto, 2020).
- Harris County houses some out-of-county inmates at the following facilities.
- Newton County Correctional Center suspended all in-person visits and added video visits to allow visits in mid-March 2020 (The Covington News, 2020)
- LaSalle Correctional Center ( Olla, Louisiana) is a private facility that also houses Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainees. There have been at least two whistleblower cases and the company was one of four required to testify before Congress over lax protections and underreporting (Ainsley, 2020). Additional information about the facility’s current policies could not be confirmed.
- West Carroll Detention Center (Epps, Louisiana) is a community (county like) operated prison. Personal visits suspended September 4, 2020 (West Carroll Parish, 2020)
Can I send an inmate a Bible?
Most correctional facilities in the United States require that you ship books through the United States Postal Service (USPS) because inmates cannot sign for packages of books. You can also send the reading material directly to the inmate from a publisher like Barnes & Noble or approved internet providers like Amazon.
Can you send coloring books to prisoners? Our special selection of adult coloring books for inmates. From tattoos to butterflies, there’s something for everyone! Send a smile! Send a coloring book to your loved ones in prison!
Locked
Michael Barajas