Behind bars

Death sentence for misdemeanors?

Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in;

Naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? Or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

— Matthew 25

IT IS WHOLLY a pleasure to reprint Paul Greenberg’s annual Dec. 21 column: “Tell Us” is the story of a man who died in Pine Bluff in 1967 — his name: Joe Telles — in a jail because the authorities didn’t have anywhere else to put him.

He was a bum down on his luck, the least among my brethren. And the spirit of this time of year should move us to think more, do more, for the unlucky, unwanted, homeless and those behind bars. Somehow we get the feeling that such a humane, if not exactly human, spirit shouldn’t be regulated to only this time of year.

A few days before the

“Tell Us” column appeared, we were given another reminder that we have our souls to think about. The paper printed an AP story about how covid-19 is raging behind prison bars in this country. It was a national story, and Arkansas made the nut graph:

“In Arkansas, where more than 9,700 prisoners have tested positive and 50 have died, four of every seven have had the virus, the second-highest prison infection rate in the U.S.”

Some will shrug at this news, for prisoners are behind bars for crimes committed. We’ve heard some say they should be put on an island and given seeds once a year. Some of us think that doesn’t square with His message in Matthew 25. Early on in this pandemic, there were other voices who demanded mass release of prisoners.

The governor of Arkansas, a former officer of the law in the Western District of Arkansas, was, once again, the voice of reason: Prisoners are there for a reason, he told us. And he is right. Giving many of the prisoners in Arkansas a shot at super-early release would put the state at risk from other dangers besides covid-19. But it isn’t too late to give them another kind of shot.

This state’s plan to roll out the covid-19 vaccine is better than those of other, lesser states. Phase 1 gives the vaccine to Arkansas’ hospital workers, nursing home residents, and those who work in both settings. Then the plan is to inoculate “essential” workers, which could mean about a third of the population, if certain reports about government

definitions are correct.

Among that group might be truckers, bank tellers, grocery clerks, government workers, and a host of others. Only then will the state focus on (1) older folks, (2) those in at-risk categories, and (3) those in “congregate settings,” which sounds like prisons.

The plan is called “fluid” by those who put it together. It ought to be. And it seems that older folks, those with at-risk health factors, and prisoners are exactly those being hit hardest by covid-19 and should go before healthy “essential” workers.

We imagine there will be those who disagree with about a third of that statement. The governor of Colorado said this to reporters the other day when he was talking about his state’s vaccine plan: “There’s no way it’s going to go to prisoners . . . before it goes to the people who haven’t committed any crime.” That is, he’d like the vaccine to be given to the most of my brethren. Doubtless, his poll numbers will increase in certain precincts.

A doctor might explain that prisoners are released every day; some because their sentence is over, some on bail if they haven’t been convicted, some on early release for minor offenses. The same doctor could explain that continually releasing these people into the community puts the rest of us at risk of contracting covid-19. Wouldn’t it be better to give inmates the vaccination while they are in prison than hope they get it after being released?

Those outside prison can take small steps to protect ourselves and our families. That is, we can put up with the small inconvenience of wearing a mask. We can stay six feet away from the person in front of us at Walmart. We can wash our hands any time we like. Those behind bars in close quarters don’t always have those abilities. Which is exactly the reason that prisons and nursing homes are hot spots.

The governor would be doing the state a favor by moving prisoners (and those in other congregate settings, like homeless shelters and nursing homes) up a few steps in the line. Yes, we have our souls to think about. But we also have the state’s best interests to think about, too.