Judge approves class-action lawsuit over Oregon response to COVID-19 in prisons
A federal judge in Portland has certified a class-action lawsuit in Oregon over the response by state leaders to the COVID-19 pandemic inside prisons.
A group of prisoners who contracted COVID-19 first sued the state in April 2020, alleging culpability by Gov. Kate Brown, Corrections Department Director Colette Peters and Health Authority Director Patrick Allen, among other state officials. The lawsuit acknowledges the Corrections Department has taken some measures but argues they have not been enough.
“This really is quite a groundbreaking order, and decision, and it could potentially be a model for advocates in other parts of the country where they’re having similar problems,” Corene Kendrick, deputy director of the American Civil Liberty Union’s National Prison Project, told Oregon Public Broadcasting.
In Oregon, 45 people in the Department of Corrections custody have so far died after testing positive for COVID-19, and more than 5,000 people have tested positive for the virus while in custody.
Read more: https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2022/04/judge-approves-class-action-lawsuit-over-oregon-response-to-covid-19-in-prisons.html