Three State Prison Oversight During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The case for increased transparency, accountability, and monitoring based on experiences from Illinois, New York and Pennsylvania

This report documents the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the response in prisons in Illinois, New York and Pennsylvania – the only three states in the country with non-governmental oversight bodies. It is based on publicly available information as well as information collected directly by these oversight agencies: The John Howard Association of Illinois (JHA, founded in 1901), The Pennsylvania Prison Society (The Society, founded in 1787) and The Correctional Association of New York (CANY, founded in 1844). It provides data unavailable in states lacking similar independent oversight, and it tells a story of very different responses to comparable challenges, and a lack of transparency on the details of the crisis and policies developed in response. This report was made possible through the support of Arnold Ventures. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors. (Published December 2021)