“Sitting Ducks:” Amid COVID, Pot Sentences Can Kill

As the coronavirus pandemic rages on, it poses a unique threat to prisoners—including those locked up for nonviolent, cannabis-related offenses.

Since the pandemic began, activists have been calling for officials to release some prisoners, including those convicted of nonviolent drug offenses and those considered the most vulnerable due to age and health conditions. They have also called for reducing arrests and not pursuing technical violations of probation and parole, to further reduce the prison population. But those who work on the issue say . . .