February 4th According to CNN on the 4th, in order to encourage prisoners to get the coronavirus vaccine, the prison system in Massachusetts has launched an incentive policy, and vaccinators will be able to get commutation of sentences.
A memo from the state’s corrections department shows that prisoners can receive commutation if they have completed two doses of vaccine, read and submit a formal application after watching and reading educational materials.
According to the memo, prisoners who have completed the above steps can get a total of 7.5 days of “good behavior reduction of sentence”.
CNN said that this incentive policy is indeed in line with a Massachusetts law that prisoners can “get commutation of sentence by participating in and completing specific projects and activities”.
“I think vaccination is very valuable for inmate rehabilitation and can be used in exchange for good behavior to commute sentences,” said Missy, the head of the state’s correctional department.
Prisons across the U.S. have become the “hardest hit” of the spread of the novel coronavirus during the pandemic.
Nearly 370,000 inmates across the nation’s prisons and correctional institutions have infected and more than 2,200 people, according to the “Coronavirus Prison Program” data that counts confirmed patients in U.S. prisons.
“Looking at outbreaks across the U.S., it’s hard to ignore prisons, which have become epicenters in many cases,” said Rubinstein, the program’s director.
