Protesters hold vigil outside California prison secretary’s home as COVID-19 deaths climb

With 53 inmate deaths resulting from COVID-19, a group of protesters gathered Thursday evening for a candlelight vigil outside the home of California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Secretary Ralph Diaz.

“Ralph Diaz has failed to keep incarcerated people safe. They are being denied cleaning supplies and while in segregated quarantine having their cells searched. They need care and compassion, not rogue officers terrorizing them,” said April Grayson, of the Sister Warriors Freedom Coalition, in a statement.

Friends, family and supporters of incarcerated people participated in the event, capping off a day of protest activity around Sacramento.

Protester Belinda Morales of Victorville said her fiancé, Marcos Trevino, died of COVID-19 in custody in Chino’s California Institution for Men in early June.

“He was one of those people that did the right thing for other people — yes he made mistakes, and he grew up in the prison system … but the man that he grew into was a kind, caring man,” Morales said of Trevino.

“I just want there to be change, people to be held accountable, it won’t bring him back but he’s got a brother in there. He said it’s impossible — impossible — to social distance.”

There have been more than 9,000 cases of coronavirus in state prisons since the pandemic began, with more than 1,000 cases still ongoing, according to data provided by the department.

California has taken steps to slow the spread in prisons, including releasing thousands of inmates. Last month, the state’s prison population dipped below 100,000 inmates for the first time in 30 years.

“Loved ones of those incarcerated are not informed when they contract COVID-19. If our loved one is sick, family members are disallowed the compassion and consideration of a simple phone call. We are informed only when our loved one has died,” said Joanne Scheer, whose son is incarcerated, in a statement.

Protest organizers called for the release of all at-risk incarcerated people from custody, including elderly and immunocompromised people, “regardless of conviction or sentence.” They also are calling for a freeze on all transfers from jails and prisons, including transfers to the custody of Immigration Customs Enforcement.

This story was originally published August 14, 2020 at 11:32 AM with the headline "Protesters hold vigil outside California prison secretary’s home as COVID-19 deaths climb."