Former Fellow Udi Ofer (’01), the national director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s justice division, summarized on the organization’s “News & Commentary” site its appeals and guidance to reduce the footprint of the criminal legal system in accordance with pandemic management recommendations (“Police, Prosecutors, Sheriffs, Parole Officers, and Governors Can Help Stop the Spread of COVID-19 — Here’s How,” March 18). Udi further commented on the subject for an article in the Miami Herald (“As Jails Let Inmates Go To Slow Coronavirus Outbreaks, ACLU Asks To Curb Arrests, Too,” March 18), a story on news site Quartz (“The Coronavirus Pandemic Turns Every Arrest Into a Potential Death Sentence,” March 24), a Reuters World News release (“Spread of Coronavirus Accelerates in US Jails and Prisons,” March 28) and a story in Reason magazine (“First Known Federal Inmate Dies of Coronavirus,” March 29). “Public opinion polls show this is a bipartisan issue. People recognize that we need to reduce jail and prison populations,” Udi said. “Now we just need our officials to step up to the plate.”
