USA Today
Former attorneys general – Criminal justice reform vital to slow spread of COVID-19

Loretta Lynch and Alberto Gonzales Opinion Contributors
As featured in USA Today on October 6, 2020

Virtually overnight, COVID-19 laid bare our nation’s alarming vulnerability to a large-scale public health emergency, causing wrenching damage in all corners of American life. Fast-moving and deadly, the coronavirus has placed enormous pressure on our criminal justice system — our jails and prisons, courts and law enforcement agencies.

Here’s one disturbing snapshot: five states have a prison mortality rate more than eight times the rate for the general population, after adjusting for the sex, age and race or ethnicity of those incarcerated.

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