We talk with Alice Lundell of the Oregon Justice Resource Center regarding a federal class lawsuit filed on behalf of their clients who are incarcerated at four Oregon prisons, against the Oregon Department of Corrections (ODOC) and Governor Kate Brown on the grounds that their rights are being violated by willful and/or deliberately indifferent medical care provided to them. The seven are all more than sixty years of age and/or have chronic health concerns that the Centers for Disease Control and the Oregon Health Authority recognize as placing them at additional risk from the COVID-19 pandemic. They are in custody at Oregon State Correctional Institution (OSCI), Oregon State Penitentiary (OSP), Columbia River Correctional Institution (CRCI), and Coffee Creek Correctional Facility (CCCF).
The plaintiffs are concerned that COVID-19 poses a serious risk to the health of all who live and work in Oregon’s prisons. There are many reasons why incarcerated people and those who work with them may be especially vulnerable to outbreaks of infection, including living at close quarters to one another, unsanitary conditions, poor health, and the large numbers of people who cycle through the system. Prisons are not built to adequately withstand a global pandemic; ODOC is not equipped or resourced to handle a public health crisis of this magnitude.
Oregon Justice Resource Center Covid 19 information: http://www.ojrc.info/covid19
- KBOO