After inmates decry lack of masks by officers, Missouri women’s prison changes policy
Corrections officers at a Chillicothe prison are now required to wear masks in the housing units, recreation area and other places within the women’s facility.
On July 13, The Star reported that several inmates at Chillicothe Correctional Center were worried that staff, who did not have to wear masks in most areas, were bringing the coronavirus inside the prison’s walls.
“A lot of people in here are getting sick and it’s sad because there could have been better precautions taken,” wrote Kevyn Zumwalt, one of more than a dozen women who contacted The Star through the prison’s email system.
At the time, there were 24 cases, and masks were required only when people entered a quarantine area or interacted with someone who was symptomatic or had tested positive for the virus.
The number of positive inmates at Chillicothe has since ballooned to 195, the most of any facility in the state.
The Department of Corrections changed the mask policy on June 17, according to an email sent to inmates by prison officials Kimberly Herring and Ryan Coffman. Two women sent the email to The Star, which explained that inmates and staff are now required to wear face coverings in several areas including the control center module, housing units, recreation and food service areas and during transportation runs.
However some women report masks are still not being worn.
“Already we have numerous staff members (Correction Officers, Sgts., Lieutenant’s, etc.) not wearing their masks,” Rhonda Smith, an inmate, wrote Saturday. “This is ‘Correctional Center’ they are supposed to be here to help us become productive members of society, not to be selfish and only think about ourselves.”
The department did not respond to a request for comment about the mask policy change.
On Monday, a group of St. Louis based advocates called on Gov. Mike Parson and the department to release women at Chillicothe who are over the age of 55 and those approved for parole.
“A prison sentence should not be a death sentence,” said Megan Crane, co-director of the Roderick & Solange MacArthur Justice Center. “But that will be the result for at least some of Missouri’s prisoners if government inaction continues.”
Parson has previously said he does not intend to release prisoners out of concerns about the virus.
As more testing has been conducted in Missouri’s prisons, more cases have been identified.
About 600 of the state’s 25,000 inmates had been tested in mid-May, more than two months into the pandemic, with 44 testing positive.
On July 13, 217 cases had been identified. That has since grown to 411 across a dozen facilities.
About 17,800 inmates have been tested while another 7,000 inmates await testing.
This story was originally published July 21, 2020 at 11:16 AM.
