It’s been four months since Devante Medina, the father of Ashley Murillo’s baby, was booked at Orient Road Jail in Hillsborough County.
What You Need To Know
- State lawmakers want change after rise in jail COVID cases
- 75 inmates have died
- More Coronavirus headlines
Four months that Ashley says have been difficult.
“He’s the working man of the family so now I had to move back in with my mother,” said Murillo.
The time has been even more difficult, since Medina was locked up right around the time the COVID pandemic started.
She says Medina tells her the inmates were given masks, but wearing them is not enforced.
She also says social distancing is limited in the jails.
“It’s horrible, it’s just horrible. I don’t want to get a call hearing he’s in the medical because of COVID or he’s in quarantine. I would rather take precaution now than later on when most of the inmates have caught something,” said Murillo.
According to the Florida Department of Corrections, more than 14,000 inmates in Florida jails have tested positive for COVID-19 since the pandemic started.
Seventy-five inmates have died.
And now, some Florida legislators are calling for change.
“Each individual who is incarcerated is someone’s family, is someone’s loved one, and deserves to be counted as more than just a number,” said Sen. Bobby Powell, a Democrat in District 30.
In a Zoom press conference Thursday morning, several lawmakers gathered to ask the governor to consider granting compassionate release for elderly inmates, non violent offenders over 60, or those with pre existing conditions to try and crack down on these numbers.
“We are here to day to bring attention to the simple fact that a deadly virus should not be a part of someone’s punishment as they pay their debt to society,” said Rep. Susan Valdes, a Democrat in District 62.
According to a statement, the Department of Dorrections is doing their best to keep up with the situation.
They say all prison staff and inmates are required to wear a face mask at all times.
Also, in prisons with a higher number of cases, extra precautions are in place, such as meals delivered to housing units, daily temperature checks, and ramped up cleaning efforts.