(Map: Emily Widra, 2021)

This map originally appeared in States of emergency: The failure of prison system responses to COVID-19.

While New Jersey’s prison population dropped by almost 42% from March 2020 to July 2021, other states’ population reductions have not been anywhere near sufficient. For example, nine state populations have dropped by only 10% or less over the same 16 month period. Of note, we measured the population "reduction" -- as distinct from the number of releases — because we have found that there are multiple mechanisms impacting populations, of which releases are but one part. For detailed data, see the population reduction appendix table.