As much of the world reels from the social distancing measure designed to combat the spread of COVID-19, criminal justice reform advocates are viewing the experience as a way to re-frame the conversation about the role of jails and prisons in our society.

An article released today in The Atlantic suggests that the experience may be changing the way that Americans view the dehumanizing effects of incarceration, from a variety of angles that consider public health in addition to the psychological effects of locking human beings away in cages.

“The last couple of weeks have obviously pressed forward in a very hypercritical way the need for us to decarcerate our jails and prisons,” said Tina Luongo, Attorney-in-Charge of the Criminal Defense Practice at The Legal Aid Society.

“[Even] before COVID, health and sanitary conditions in our jails and prisons were abysmal. [The] more we talk about the inhumanity of jails and prisons, the more people are becoming aware that that is not the answer.”​