Inmates are being let out of prison because of the coronavirus. People are sent to prison for a reason; that reason is because they disobeyed the law. Disobeying the law can consist of many different threats towards the community, and it has the possibility to put a personś life in danger or has taken somebody’s life already. Inmates are in prison because they are disobeying the law and posing as a threat to the community, so they should stay in prison for the amount of years they got sentenced to and not be released any time earlier than that date. 

Sadly inmates are getting released out of prison because the judges believe the coronavirus will affect their health and it is not safe for them to stay there. According to Fox News, over 16,000 US inmates have been released as the virus progressed. So basically, people that have done violent and non-violent crimes are being let out of prison because of the virus. Just think about the amount of families these inmates have affected and they are being let out of prison because of the virus.

Criminal Justice´s reasoning for this is, it is impossible for inmates to social distance in cells. Criminal justice believes that this will lower the COVID-19 deaths. Inmates should not be just let out of jail because they disobeyed the law, causing a threat to the environment. 

According to NY Times, ¨ In Washington State, some law enforcement officials argued that a plan by the governor to grant early release to nearly 1,000 inmates could include people who had committed assault and sexual crimes. “I feel the release of these additional offenders is of great risk to public safety,” Sheriff Robert Snaza of Lewis County said in a statement.¨ 

It does not make any sense to let these inmates out who committed horrible crimes towards people and hurt many different families.

In the NY Times article is stated, ¨Many opponents have pointed to a case in Florida, where a Tampa man was accused of shooting and killing someone the day after he and more than 160 other inmates were freed from Hillsborough County jails last month.¨ 

Murderers, people who committed sexual crimes, and assault are being let out of jail because of a virus that could affect them, but they are putting a larger effect on the community. Why would the U.S government allow inmates to be released from prison when they broke the law and have put lives in danger?