Oregon inmates struggle with extreme heat inside prisons; advocates call for better cooling systems OregonLive.com 8 hrs ago
Oregon’s heatwave has hit prison inmates particularly hard.
Inmates have lodged complaints about sweltering temperatures over the past several days, prompting prison lawyers to call on legislators to provide them immediate relief from the conditions.
In a Monday letter to legislators, Oregon Justice Resource Center lawyers Juan Chavez and Zach Winston detailed some of the “dire” conditions that inmates have experienced. They said older, immunocompromised and mentally ill inmates have struggled even more from the heat.
They said the majority of complaints about the heat had come from inmates at the Oregon State Penitentiary, Coffee Creek Correctional Facility and Santiam Correctional Institution. Two of those facilities are in Salem, where temperatures reached 117 degrees on Monday.
Families of inmates at two Oregon prisons are now able to schedule limited visits with their loved ones, and a third prison will soon follow suit. Jennifer Black, an Oregon Department of Corrections spokesperson, said the Oregon State Penitentiary and Columbia River Correctional Institution recently started allowing scheduled visits. The department will begin allowing scheduled visits at .
Families of inmates at two Oregon prisons are now able to schedule limited visits with their loved ones, and a third prison will soon follow suit. Jennifer Black, an Oregon Department of Corrections spokesperson, said the Oregon State Penitentiary and Columbia River Correctional Institution recently started allowing scheduled visits. The department will begin allowing scheduled visits at .
SALEM — As coronavirus outbreaks rage at several Oregon prisons, inmates at a minimum-security facility in Salem are pushing for changes after they say administrators sent dozens of inmates who
Santiam prison inmates say administrators ‘knowingly’ housed them with COVID-positive patients
Updated Feb 14, 2021;
As coronavirus outbreaks rage at several Oregon prisons, inmates at a minimum-security facility in Salem are pushing for changes after they say administrators sent dozens of inmates who had just tested positive for COVID-19 back into the general population.
Inmates at the Santiam Correctional Institution said they’re increasingly concerned about the way administrators are handling the pandemic and believe the Oregon Department of Corrections has knowingly placed inmates in danger.
According to six inmates at the Salem prison, administrators began sending COVID-positive inmates back into their dormitories Jan. 21 a day after the prison offered mass testing that revealed an outbreak of about 50 cases. The inmates said some of those who tested positive were sent back to their dorms for more than 24 hours before being transferred to a quarantine unit.