Early in the pandemic, the state of New Mexico implemented swift and sweeping protocols. State agencies were mandated to provide Covid-19 mitigation plans. State agencies with congregate living facilities, like public higher education, were required to thoroughly and publicly detail strategies in the event of an outbreak, steps for controlling a current epidemic, and plans for mitigating potential outbreaks. Notably, the pandemic control measures taken by the New Mexico Corrections Department (NMCD) have markedly different thresholds than other state agencies. In comparison, the New Mexico Department of Corrections’ containment strategy is as follows:
NMCD Covid Mitigation strategy identified:
Inmate visitation suspended
Staff members medically screened before shifts
Inmate hygienic supply doubled
Inter-facility transfers limited to an as-needed basis
Suspension of volunteers
Suspension of outside work details
Suspension of Interstate compact transfers
Events, clubs, banquets, and activities postponed
Parole Hearings conducted via video conference
Inmates screened on arrival
14-day quarantine for all new arrivals
Free video visitation
50% of staff tested for Covid weekly
Satellite testing of inmates, including high-risk individuals & new intakes
Issuing of cloth masks to staff and inmates
Covid Containment Strategy of Outbreak:
None identified
Covid Personal Protection
Double hygienic supply
Provide cloth masks (Source Control)
Protocols for cleaning and disinfecting
None identified
Strategy for contact tracing or influx of cases
None identified
No public NMCD strategy identifies plans for containing an outbreak, protection protocols, sanitation, or protecting the vulnerable from disease. The strategies listed above primarily decrease the risk of infection entering the facility and do little to outline how prisons can or will handle outbreaks once the virus is present. These vaguely identified procedures have resulted in negligible steps towards mitigation.
Paroling and releasing non-violent vulnerable incarcerated people could have stemmed the spread of COVID. However, lawyers representing clients in prisons across the state stated they were unaware of any COVIDreleases. An attorney representing multiple clients held at the Metropolitan Detention Center said that this is a violation of prisoner rights and a disregard for human life. Parole denials included an 80-year-old man, vulnerable to severe disease; individuals convicted of non-violent crimes; and people within months of their parole date (multiple personal interviews with private attorney, 2021).
This private attorney noted that the incarcerated people had no access to face masks or regular hygienic products, even months into the pandemic. When detainees did access face masks, the supply was not large enough to safely disinfect and wear per CDC guidelines, which recommend replacing and disinfecting cloth masks after 8 hours of wear. Anecdotally, inmates were commonly required to clean their own facilities.
No state identified Covid protocol efficiently or directly protected incarcerated people from becoming infected with Covid-19. No detainee in any detention facility in New Mexico is serving a death sentence, yet these facilities retained policy as if everyone was deserving of one. The role of prisons is not to judge the punishment for a conviction, yet lacking mitigation and containment strategies do just that.
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