Why Releasing More People Was the Best Way to Slow COVID-19 in Prisons

Releasing more people from prisons and jails was the most effective way to slow COVID-19 behind bars. That was the argument of a 2020 article in The Lancet, a medical journal. The authors called this "decarceration," which means reducing the number of people who are locked up.

Update (October 2026): This post was written in November 2020, during the pandemic. The Bureau of Prisons' expanded CARES Act power to send people to home confinement has since ended.

Why COVID-19 spreads in prisons

Mass incarceration has left many prisons and jails crowded. When a virus gets in, it spreads fast in close quarters.

People inside often have little access to cleaning supplies, good health care, or a place to quarantine. Many develop serious health problems while locked up, like heart disease, diabetes and lung disease, all of which make COVID-19 more dangerous.

Long sentences also mean more older people are in prison, and older people face a higher risk of serious illness. Read more about COVID-19 death rates in prisons.

Releases were too slow

The article argues that releasing certain people early is the most effective way to keep the virus in check. That includes people who are very sick, age 55 or older, or have chronic health problems. These groups are also less likely to commit new crimes.

Even so, compassionate releases were rare before COVID-19. The original version of this article reported that only 9% of the 1.5 million people in prison had ever been granted compassionate release. It also said that even as COVID-19 spread, the rate of releases had not gone up.

Some prisons did release people, but experts said it was not happening fast enough.

Governments are responsible

The article calls on governments to act. Crowded prisons cannot quarantine people well, so the authors called for a decisive push to release more people. They pointed to other countries that released people early in the pandemic and saw a dramatic drop in positive tests. Those countries were also able to put better prevention and treatment in place. The article argues that reducing prison populations in the United States would bring a similar result.

Life after release is hard too

People leaving prison face many barriers. Finding a good job is hard, especially with a record. Safe housing and basic needs can be out of reach. The article calls this a cycle of "structural violence" that often leads people back to prison.

COVID-19 made these problems worse. People leaving prison had to worry about their health both before and after release. That stress, on top of everything else, strains a person's physical and mental health. And a person with no symptoms could spread the virus to their community without knowing it. Halfway houses and other group housing were at higher risk of outbreaks.

Fewer people inside

Many prisons said they tested people before release. But the article says testing alone is not enough. The simplest way to save lives is to reduce the number of people in each facility.

Dorm-style housing would benefit from less contact and more testing. Still, reducing crowding matters most, because it allows for distancing, better cleaning and better health.

Release is only the first step

The pandemic hurt the economy, making jobs and affordable housing even harder to find. That is doubly true for people coming home from prison. Without support, many are at high risk of suicide, relapse, or going back to prison.

Release and support go together

With COVID-19 cases rising, stronger action was needed to slow the spread. Reducing prison populations does more than address a pandemic. It also gives society a way to reform the justice system from the inside.

Fixing only one part of the problem will not solve it. Reducing prison populations is necessary, but real support for people after release is essential if we want lasting change.

Facing a federal sentence? Book a consultation to talk it through with Brandon Sample.