April 10, 2020
Tracking the Politics of Criminalization and Punishment in Canada
Go to the link to get a summary document on the number of inmates and prison staff who have gotten Coronavirus to date. The chart has been prepared by Justin Piché of the University of Ottawa and the Criminalization and Punishment Education Project and is the first comprehensive report to date on the scene confronting the inmates and staff. The source of the information is also identified with the link. https://tpcp-canada.blogspot.com/2020/04/imprisoning-pandemic-in-canada-v10.html?fbclid=IwAR0Ac56TN8EQn7o_KEl5MQHzGHeF_SIB10lNIfKpxEMGpusS4wia-30jQwM Related article: CBC News – Janice Johnston Edmonton Institution inmate punished for speaking to media about COVID-19, lawyer says https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/edmonton-institution-inmate-punished-for-speaking-to-media-about-covid-19-1.5522166?fbclid=IwAR0Qrglr1dZe-umHDR3qqaJXGVY7CFAVmKZxJO1nE_Vz4CGmgJgxoeV–Mg The Marshall Project (US) – Donald Kagen as told to Nicole Lewis I was at Rikers While Coronavirus Spread. Getting Out Was Just as Surreal. https://www.themarshallproject.org/2020/04/08/i-was-at-rikers-while-coronavirus-spread-getting-out-was-just-as-surreal Related article: N.Y. Times – Timothy Williams and Danielle Ivory Chicago’s Jail Is Top U.S. Hot Spot as Virus Spreads Behind Bars https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/08/us/coronavirus-cook-county-jail-chicago.html
Global News – Stewart Bell
Judges release growing number accused of violent crimes due to COVID-19 fears
Saying that the pandemic had reordered the calculus, some judges are releasing people charged with violent incidents. The court decisions are more frequently citing the Covid-19 virus in the decisions, even some with serious violence at issue. https://globalnews.ca/news/6788223/coronavirus-prisons-inmates-released/ CBC News – Olivia Stefanovich Bail considerations, releases need to adapt to COVID-19 threat, lawyers say – Judges have been factoring COVID-19 into their decisions — lawyers and advocates say that’s not enough https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/stefanovich-covid19-bail-considerations-early-release-1.5526262 Related article: Toronto Star – Alyshah Hasham Ontario jails are not letting guards regularly use COVID-19 protective equipment, unions and inmates warn https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/04/08/ontario-jails-are-not-letting-guards-regularly-use-covid-19-protective-equipment-unions-and-inmates-warn.html Related article: CTV News – Ian Campbell Ontario releases more than 1,900 inmates, many with nowhere to go https://northernontario.ctvnews.ca/ontario-releases-more-than-1-900-inmates-many-with-nowhere-to-go-1.4882668?fbclid=IwAR34QXgj8I1d1ZRVZSe7BZzIhqfRJevCCF6SAO-sNy_zHq3uOAd_Za4Ytv0
Business Insider (Australia) – Joseph Zeballos-Roig
Spain is moving to permanently establish universal basic income in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic
Spain is the first European country to move ahead with the guaranteed annual income as a way of better preparing people for another pandemic. There appears to be a serious influence on the effort from former democratic presidential primary Andrew Yang. “Nadia Calviño, the country’s minister for economic affairs, told the Spanish broadcaster La Sextaon Sunday evening that the government was planning to introduce the cash handouts as part of a barrage of policies meant to help people get back on their feet… We’re going to do it as soon as possible,” she said. “So it can be useful, not just for this extraordinary situation, and that it remains forever.” https://www.businessinsider.com.au/spain-universal-basic-income-coronavirus-yang-ubi-permanent-first-europe-2020-4?fbclid=IwAR10Hcw_Y7X_yJdrQa0w8Y7Tzcf7Wnx7tbNFAPTdeUvRFX8bYxVo_DAVJjE
BC Catholic / Catholic Register – Michael Swan
Priest would rather be jailed than abandon inmates: Victoria bishop
As the Coronavirus becomes more prevalent, the chaplaincy services to the inmates is diminishing. “There is lots of research that, for religious or spiritually-engaged people, chaplaincy services are integral to those peoples’ mental health,” said Carleton University law professor Rebecca Bromwich in an email.” https://bccatholic.ca/news/canada/priest-would-rather-be-jailed-than-abandon-inmates-victoria-bishop?fbclid=IwAR0Eo0RS9aUgiuX_PWvr6abniw64Fvj4TofdRf-rgnk0kpG4Qcz9FPNZRgQ Related article: BC Catholic: Agnieszka Ruck Prison ministry an ‘essential service,’ but services suffering https://bccatholic.ca/news/catholic-van/prison-ministry-an-essential-service-but-services-suffering Related article: THE WAY OF THE CROSS
LED BY HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS – Good Friday – 10 April 2020 http://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/2020/documents/ns_lit_doc_20200410_via-crucis-meditazioni_en.html (from Padua Prison, Italy)