A staffing shortage across North Carolina’s prisons led to the temporary closing of a wing at Swannanoa Correctional Center for Women in late August and the relocation of several dozen prisoners and staff. The wing has since been reopened, but it’s unclear if or when the inmates who were transferred out will return.
COVID-19 stalled the expansion of medication assisted treatment into NC’s prisons, but the demand for it is just as high — if not increasing.
Carolina Public Press and other news media organizations filed a lawsuit May 28 to obtain public records relating to state’s tracking and handling of COVID-19 crisis.
While specific conditions would be decided “on a case-by-case basis,” said N.C. Secretary of Public Safety Erik Hooks, prisoners could be tracked using home confinement or electronic monitors to ensure they were adhering to their sentences. He noted that juvenile offenders were also being diverted from detention facilities to community-based programs whenever possible.
