West Joins ACLU, Others and Calls on Bureau of Prisons To Immediately Begin Testing, Taking Steps To Mitigate COVID-19 Loss of Life

Calls On Cornyn To Protect Vulnerable Inmates & Prison StaffDALLAS—State Sen.

Royce West (D-Dallas), a nationally known advocate for restorative justice and criminal justice reform who served as Dallas County’s first minority Chief Felony Prosecutor, called upon the federal Bureau of Prisons Friday morning to immediately test every federal inmate for COVID-19, take immediate steps to protect vulnerable inmate populations, and make sure prison staff are properly protected.

“No amount of shelter-in-place in our federal prisons can protect the most vulnerable inmates, or prison staff,” West said. “Just because someone is serving time for a crime does not mean their basic human rights can be ignored,” West said.

West, who is running for United States Senate in the July Democratic Primary runoff in Texas, said BOP must begin the testing immediately and quarantine all federal prisoners who test positive for the disease in medical segregation.

“For the safety of both other prisoners and prison staff, BOP must come up with a solution to medically quarantine infected inmates in a way that protects the prison population at large and prison staff.

West noted that cases of COVID-19 had already been detected in Texas state prisons. He noted BOP staff in Texas has already tested positive for COVID-19.

Finally, West said he was joining the American Civil Liberties Union, Due Process Institute, Freedom Works, Justice Action Network, Justice Roundtable, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, The Sentencing Project, and We Got Us Now to call on the U.S. Department of Justice and federal Bureau of Prisons to immediately begin considering compassionate release for vulnerable prison populations who do not pose a threat to society.

“We must get medically vulnerable populations out of federal incarceration before their prison sentences become death sentences,” West said.

West said he was calling on Senator John Cornyn to immediately call for COVID-19 testing and compassionate release of vulnerable populations in the nation’s federal penitentiary system.

“Now is a time to show leadership on behalf of all Americans,” West said. “Senator Cornyn, I call on you to do everything in your power to protect prison staff and inmates in our federal prisons,” West said.