Protecting prisoners

The virus outbreak in the Cibola County Correctional Center is a shame and a stain on New Mexico’s ability to take care of people in its institutions. Incarcerated people are human.

They deserve good health care, a safe environment, an opportunity for rehabilitation, and a prison administration that recognizes and follows through on its responsibility to care for the people in its prisons.

According to an article from Searchlight New Mexico (“Prison’s virus outbreak brings fear to rural area,” Sept. 14), CoreCivic reported more than $1.9 billion in revenue in 2019, about half of it from federal contracts.

And yet the company officials cannot or will not use their considerable wealth to take care of the people incarcerated in their prisons.

CoreCivic has also collected $150 million from Cibola County, one of the poorest counties in New Mexico. What is CoreCivic doing with all this money? Why hasn’t the company taken action to prevent and protect the incarcerated people from the virus? Why are so many people denied testing and treatment?

As of Sept. 8, there were 324 cases of the virus, which accounted for more than 80 percent of Cibola County’s cases. CoreCivic is not only putting incarcerated people at risk, but also those who work at the prison and their families.

This facility needs new management and immediate oversight to protect the health and well-being of those incarcerated.

The appropriate governing body of New Mexico needs to hold CoreCivic officials accountable for the way they are treating those incarcerated as well as their use of the money provided by Cibola County and the federal government.

Just because people are in prison does not mean we do not have to care for and about them.

Nancy King Santa Fe