Governor Eric Holcomb says he doesn’t support the idea of releasing low-level offenders from the Department of Correction to protect them from COVID-19. “We’ve got our offenders in a safe place, we believe, maybe even safer than just letting them out, to avoid contracting this COVID-19,” Holcomb said during state officials’ COVID-19 press conference Monday.
Indiana Department of Correction Commissioner Rob Carter said a total of 27 offenders have tested positive for COVID-19 at seven IDOC facilities. “I feel like we do have a good handle on this,” Carter said. “We have them quarantined. We have them separated. They are isolated.”
In all, the department has about 27,000 offenders in 22 facilities.
The Indiana Supreme Court has denied a request from the American Civil Liberties Union to release prisoners who are at a heightened risk of severe illness or death from COVID-19. All three branches of Indiana government recently issued a joint letter offering guidance for counties looking at releasing certain inmates from local jails.
