Continued incarceration during pandemic most likely unconstitutional
WRAL.com NC . . . A North Carolina Superior Court judge ruled that a coalition of civil rights groups are likely to win their claim that the incarceration of state prisoners during the COVID-19 pandemic is unconstitutional.
The ACLU of North Carolina, Disability Rights North Carolina, Emancipate NC, Forward Justice, and the National Juvenile Justice Network filed the lawsuit in April against Gov. Roy Cooper and the North Carolina Department of Public Safety Secretary Erik Hooks on behalf of three prisoners, a prisoner’s spouse, the NC NAACP, Disability Rights North Carolina and the ACLU of North Carolina.
The plaintiffs claim the state is failing to protect prisoners from COVID-19 outbreaks.
On Monday, the judge ruled the plaintiffs were likely to win their claim and ordered all parties to reconvene later this month to make a plan to keep prisoners safe.
Read the rest of the piece here.
