The Ontario Correctional Institute (OCI) where an outbreak of COVID-19 has infected inmates and staff in Brampton, Ont., on Monday, April 20, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
What it’s like in—and once you’re out of—jail during COVID-19
To discuss the outbreaks in jails, Raju Mudhar is joined by Alyshah Hasham, the Star’s courts reporter and Derrick Peachey, a former inmate at the OCI, who was released in early April, about his experience in—and once he was out of—prison
The Ontario Correctional Institute (OCI) where an outbreak of COVID-19 has infected inmates and staff in Brampton, Ont., on Monday, April 20, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
There have already been COVID-19 outbreaks in correctional institutes across the U.S., British Columbia and Quebec. In Ontario, the largest outbreak has centred on the Ontario Correctional Institute (OCI), where of 109 inmates, 80 have tested positive, as well as 21 correctional officers.
But it’s not just inside the jails and prisons, as the government is letting many low-risk offenders out to ease the burden on the system, and many are entering a different world, with less post-release support facilities in place.
To discuss the prison pandemic, Raju Mudhar is joined by Alyshah Hasham, the Star’s courts reporter who has been following this story. As well, he talks with Derrick Peachey, a former inmate at the OCI, who was released in early April, about his experience inside the prison, and dealing with a very different world outside.
