Judge: State Prisons Out Of Compliance With COVID-19 Safety Mandate

A North Carolina judge says that state prisons have failed to comply with a court order mandating actions to be taken regarding COVID-19. 

Wake County Superior Court Judge Vinston Rozier Jr. issued a ruling last month saying prison officials needed to come up with a plan to test all inmates for the coronavirus. It also ordered prison transfers to be sharply curtailed, and addressed criteria for expedited early release guidelines.

On Friday, Rozier said that prisons remain out of compliance, and that the court was “extremely concerned by the apparent indifference” of state officials to his ruling.  

According to The News & Observer, the judge said information prison officials have provided since his mandate has been “inconsistent, incomplete and potentially incorrect.”

On Friday, Rozier gave the state until July 27th to provide evidence that it's following his orders, including a detailed plan on preventing the spread of COVID-19. He is also appointing a court liaison to monitor the accuracy of the response from prison officials.

Rozier's original ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by civil rights advocates.

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