HELP US END MASS INCARCERATION
The Prison Policy Initiative uses research, advocacy, and organizing to dismantle mass incarceration. We’ve been in this movement for 23 years, thanks to individual donors like you.
Can you help us sustain this work?
Thank you,
Peter Wagner, Executive Director Donate
Can you help us sustain this work?
Thank you,
Peter Wagner, Executive Director Donate
(Map: Emily Widra, 2021)
This map originally appeared in States of emergency: The failure of prison system responses to COVID-19.
Across the country, COVID-19 has claimed more than 2,700 lives behind bars and infected 1 out of every 3 people in prison. Some states were hit particularly hard by the virus and responded by rapid mass testing of incarcerated people, while other states — like Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi — reported lower infection rates and lower rates of testing. Mortality rates in prisons are often double that of the state as a whole, further emphasizing the danger COVID-19 poses behind bars. For detailed data, see the infections and death rates appendix table.
