Prisoners Are COVID Breeding Ground

by Camila Acosta, Sports Editor

IVAN PIERRE AGUIRRE/Reuters

While in most prisons the priority has been to release as many prisoners as viable in an effort to limit the spread of COVID-19, those at the county detention center at El Paso, Texas are now working at the county’s local mortuary. The inmates are paid two dollars an hour, working through the detention center’s trustee program from 8 a.m.-4 p.m.

"If there's no personnel, no one to help out, and there's volunteers, even if they are inmates, then that's what we're left with," El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego said in a local TV station interview.

Those being asked to risk their lives for a mere two dollars an hour are in custody for misdemeanors or are in minimum custody meaning that the inmates have lower level offenses or classify to be in the least secure housing. However, Texas remains one of the five states that doesn’t pay prisoners in exchange for labor.

“The trustees refused to work unless they were compensated,” El Paso County’s sheriff's office spokesman Chris Acosta said.

After learning of what was happening down at the mortuary the community of El Paso was outraged by the county's use of inmates rather than medical professionals.

“It was just a temporary focus, and we’re waiting for the Texas National Guard to help us out with that,” Judge Samaniego said.

The county department claims to be running extremely low on funding and has asked for the National Guard to come in and help. However, Commander in Chief of Texas military services Greg Abbott has directed county officials to first use county resources before bringing the National Guard in.

El Paso county’s COVID-19 cases have been on an upward spike and without help from the federal government they are struggling to stay afloat with 77,186 total cases and 839 total deaths.