Criminal justice reform advocates are doubling down on their requests to send some state prisoners home during the Coronavirus pandemic. They want the Governor Kevin Stitt to approve the releases for more than 280 prisoners.
The state Pardon and Parole Board already recommended the prisoners' sentences be commuted and Stitt has mostly agreed with the board's recommendations in the past.
Reform advocates say sub-par hygiene standards in prison, overcrowding and a shortage of hospitals in the rural areas where many correctional facilities are located makes reducing the prison population especially important now.
