'I fear for my life': Prisoners in New York City jails sound alarm as coronavirus spreads
“我为我的生命担忧”:当冠状病毒蔓延时，纽约监狱的囚犯们发出了警报
Jon Schuppe Jon Schuppe
NBC News NBC新闻March 31, 2020, 6:30 AM GMT+82020年3月31日，格林尼治标准时间早上6:30 +8
On the morning of March 15, amid escalating fears about the COVID-19 outbreak, a 62-year-old educational consultant showed up at the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York for a flight to Trinidad, where he planned to attend a funeral, he said. But police stopped the consultant at the gate and arrested him under a year-old warrant, alleging he’d given bogus information for a state identification card in New Jersey.
3月15日上午，随着对covid19病毒爆发的担忧不断升级，一名62岁的教育顾问出现在纽约肯尼迪国际机场(John F. Kennedy International Airport)，准备飞往特立尼达，他说他计划在那里参加一个葬礼。但警方在门口截住了这名顾问，并根据一年前的逮捕令逮捕了他，指控他为新泽西州的州身份证提供虚假信息。
The arrest led the consultant into New York‘s notoriously brutal and unsanitary jail system, where COVID-19 was beginning to spread.
这次逮捕把这位顾问带进了纽约臭名昭著的残忍和不卫生的监狱系统，在那里，COVID-19开始传播。
The consultant, who spoke on condition that he be identified only by his first name, Bill, knew jail would be terrible. But he said he was shaken by an apparent lack of protection against the coronavirus for inmates and workers.
这位顾问要求只透露自己的名字比尔(Bill)，他知道坐牢会很可怕。但他说，囚犯和工作人员明显缺乏对冠状病毒的防护，这让他感到震惊。
His first night in the Vernon C. Bain Center, a floating jail in the East River, was spent on a floor, lying back-to-back with other men, “like a slave ship,” he said. Then he was assigned to a dorm at the floating jail where inmates — many of them charged with nonviolent crimes or parole violations — bunked about 3 feet apart, ate at communal tables, shared toilets, showers and phones and had soap but no masks, disinfectant or alcohol wipes to keep their detention space clean, he said. New inmates arrived, others left. Corrections officers guarded them without much protective gear beyond gloves. They tracked news of the virus’ spread on the day-room television.
他在东河(East River)上浮动监狱弗农c贝恩中心(Vernon C. Bain Center)度过的第一个晚上是在地板上度过的，和其他男人背靠背地躺在一起，“就像一艘奴隶船，”他说。然后他被分配到一个宿舍在浮动监狱囚犯——他们中的许多人指控非暴力犯罪或违反假释,亦曾约3英尺,吃在公共餐桌,共享马桶,淋浴和手机和soap,但没有面具,消毒剂或酒精擦拭以保持他们的拘留空间干净,他说。新囚犯来了，其他人离开了。狱警看守他们，除了手套外没有多少防护装备。他们追踪了客厅电视上有关病毒传播的新闻。
“We were left to our own defenses,” Bill recalled. “We didn’t know what was going to happen to us with the virus. We were in cramped quarters where no one really cared.”
“我们只能靠自己去辩护，”比尔回忆说。“我们不知道病毒会发生什么。我们住在拥挤的房间里，没有人真正关心我们。”
Image: The Vernon C. Bain Correctional Center, a prison barge off the coast of the Bronx, at Rikers Island. (David Howells / Corbis via Getty Images file)
图片:弗农C.贝恩惩教中心，一艘监狱驳船在布朗克斯海岸外的莱克岛。(大卫·豪威尔斯/ Corbis通过盖蒂图片库)
That sense of being stalked by a deadly disease without being able to defend against it pervades New York City jails, according to inmates, reform advocates, defense lawyers, health officials and the union representing corrections officers. So far, 167 inmates and 114 Department of Correction staff members have tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, signs that it is being transmitted inside facilities and following those who are infected as they return to outside communities.
据狱友、改革派人士、辩护律师、卫生官员和代表狱警的工会表示，这种被一种致命疾病跟踪却无力防范的感觉，弥漫在纽约市的监狱里。迄今为止，167名囚犯和114名惩教署工作人员的covid19检测结果呈阳性。covid19是一种由冠状病毒引起的疾病，有迹象表明这种病毒正在监狱内传播，并在那些感染者返回社区外后继续传播。
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The experience in New York, which is the center of the American outbreak with more than 36,000 cases as of Monday, could replay in cities and counties across the country, public health experts say. Jails may act as COVID-19 incubators, sickening and killing inmates and workers and spreading the disease to the broader public.
公共卫生专家说，截至周一，纽约是美国疫情爆发的中心，有超过3.6万例病例。纽约的情况可能会在全国的各市和县重演。监狱可能扮演着covid19孵化器的角色，使囚犯和工人患病或死亡，并将疾病传播给更广泛的公众。
“They're all ticking time bombs,” said James Manfre, a former sheriff in Flagler County, Florida, and a member of the Law Enforcement Action Partnership, a nonprofit that advocates for the reduction of jail and prison populations. “County jails will suffer the most because they’re the ones that cycle people in and out the quickest.”
“它们都是定时炸弹，”佛罗里达州弗拉格勒县(Flagler County)的前治安官、执法行动伙伴组织(Law Enforcement Action Partnership)的成员詹姆斯·曼弗雷(James Manfre)说。“县监狱将遭受最大的损失，因为它们是让人进出最快的地方。”
There are indications that COVID-19 is beginning to spread in lockups around the country. Jail inmates have tested positive in Illinois, NewJersey, California, Texas, Louisiana, Georgia, South Dakota and Washington, D.C. Inmates or staff members have tested positive at state prisons in California, Louisiana, Michigan, Texas, New York and Georgia. The federal Bureau of Prisons says 19 inmates and 19 staff members have tested positive; one inmate has died.
有迹象表明，COVID-19已经开始在全国范围内被禁闭。伊利诺伊州、新泽西州、加利福尼亚州、得克萨斯州、路易斯安那州、乔治亚州、南达科他州和华盛顿特区的监狱里的囚犯或工作人员在加利福尼亚州、路易斯安那州、密歇根州、得克萨斯州、纽约州和乔治亚州的监狱里的检测结果呈阳性。美国联邦监狱管理局表示，19名囚犯和19名工作人员的检测结果呈阳性;一名囚犯死亡。
Authorities in many parts of the country are scrambling to respond, cutting down on arrests, suspending trials and court hearings, banning jail visits, screening staff as they come to work, isolating ill inmates and releasing detainees deemed low risk to the public.
中国许多地方的有关部门正在迅速做出反应，减少逮捕，暂停审判和法庭听证会，禁止探访监狱，在工作人员上班时对他们进行筛查，隔离生病的囚犯，释放被认为对公众风险较低的囚犯。
Full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak 全面报道冠状病毒爆发
Los Angeles County, which has America’s largest jail system, says it has no confirmed COVID-19 cases behind bars, but has released 1,700 inmates to try to prevent a spread. In Cook County, Illinois, which includes Chicago, 24 inmates and nine workers have tested positive as authorities work to release detainees accused of low-level crimes. New Jersey, South Carolina, Iowa, Nashville, Tennessee, and Cuyahoga County, Ohio, have made similar moves.
拥有美国最大监狱系统的洛杉矶县表示，目前还没有确认的19起刑事案件，但该县已经释放了1700名囚犯，以防止疫情扩散。在包括芝加哥在内的伊利诺伊州库克县，24名囚犯和9名工作人员的检测结果呈阳性，当局正努力释放被控轻度犯罪的囚犯。新泽西州、南卡罗来纳州、爱荷华州、田纳西州的纳什维尔和俄亥俄州的凯霍加县也采取了类似的措施。
Attorney General William Barr has ordered the Bureau of Prisons to allow more offenders to serve time in home confinement, but inmate advocates and some Congress members want the Department of Justice to do more, including expanding the release of elderly and ill inmates.
美国司法部长巴尔(William Barr)已下令美国监狱管理局(Bureau of Prisons)允许更多犯人在家服刑，但囚犯权益倡导人士和一些国会议员希望司法部(Department of Justice)采取更多措施，包括扩大释放老年和患病囚犯。
Image: The Rikers Island jail complex in New York in 2014. (Seth Wenig / AP file)
图片:2014年纽约的赖克斯岛监狱。(Seth Wenig / AP文件)
In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio has ordered the release of 75 jail inmates nearing the end of their sentences for nonviolent offenses, and has said he wants to release about 300 more. But that’s a small fraction of the 4,636inmates in the city’s jails, 3,000 of whom are waiting for trial and 1,300 of whom are being held for violations of parole or probation. The city’s Board of Correction, which monitors jail conditions, has implored authorities to release more than 2,000 inmates who are elderly, ill or accused of nonviolent offenses.
在纽约市，市长比尔·德布拉西奥下令释放75名因非暴力犯罪即将刑满的囚犯，并表示他希望再释放大约300名囚犯。但这只是该市4,636名囚犯中的一小部分，其中3,000人正在等待审判，1,300人因违反假释或缓刑而被关押。负责监督监狱状况的市监狱矫正委员会(Board of Correction)恳求有关部门释放2,000多名老年、患病或被控非暴力犯罪的囚犯。
Last week, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, said he would approve the release of 1,100 jail inmates held on alleged parole violations, a number that would likely include a few hundred in New York City. On Friday, the Legal Aid Society said it has persuaded a judge to order the release of 106 accused of minor violations of parole.
上周，纽约州州长、民主党人安德鲁·科莫(Andrew Cuomo)表示，他将批准释放1100名涉嫌违反假释规定的囚犯，这其中可能包括纽约市的几百人。周五，法律援助协会表示，他们已经说服法官下令释放106名被控轻度违反假释的人。
“It’s important for everyone to realize they are not separate from the community. We are all together. But they don’t have a chance because they are locked up in crowded, dirty conditions and that puts everyone at risk,” said Dr. Robert Cohen, a member of the board who ran medical services on Rikers Island, the city’s main jail complex, during the AIDS crisis. “Wherever possible, the number of people should be cut down to decrease the risk to people working and living in jail. It’s a public health action that will save lives.”
“重要的是每个人都要意识到他们并不是独立于社会之外的。我们都在一起。但他们没有机会，因为他们被关在拥挤、肮脏的环境中，这让每个人都处于危险之中，”罗伯特·科恩(Robert Cohen)博士说。他是董事会成员，在艾滋病危机期间，曾在该市主要的监狱设施赖克斯岛(Rikers Island)经营医疗服务。“只要有可能，就应该减少在押人员数量，以降低在押人员的工作和生活风险。这是一项拯救生命的公共卫生行动。”
Michael Skelly, spokesman for the New York City Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association, which represents jail guards, said the city took too long to shut down in-person inmate visits, increase segregation of at-risk inmates and supply staff with enough gloves, masks and hand sanitizer. The focus on releasing inmates has overshadowed the plight of corrections officers, he said.
代表监狱看守的纽约市管教官员慈善协会(New York City Correction Officers’Association)发言人迈克尔·斯凯利(Michael Skelly)说，纽约市花了太长时间才关闭了对囚犯的探访，增加了对有危险囚犯的隔离，并向工作人员提供了足够的手套、口罩和洗手液。他说，对释放囚犯的关注给狱警的困境蒙上了阴影。
“We’re at the epicenter of the epicenter,” Skelly said. “You want to talk about social distancing, but you have housing areas in jails that are 50 inmates to one officer, or almost 100 to one.”
“我们在震中的中心，”Skelly说。“你想谈论社会距离，但你在监狱里的住房面积是50人对一名狱警，或近100人对一名狱警。”
Some inmates said in interviews that they felt for the officers who guarded them.
一些犯人在采访中说，他们对看守他们的警察很同情。
“The officers are terrified,” one man locked up on an alleged parole violation said in a brief phone interview from a dormitory-style detention center on Rikers Island. He spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear that it could jeopardize his case. “They’re more sympathetic to us. They look at it as we’re in it together.”
“警官们吓坏了，”一名被控违反假释的男子在赖克斯岛一座类似宿舍的拘留所接受简短电话采访时说。由于担心此事会危及他的案子，他要求匿名。“他们更同情我们。他们看这件事就像我们在一起一样。”
The New York City Department of Correction, which runs the city’s jails, said in a statement that it is taking a number of steps to protect workers and inmates, including screenings, “robust sanitation protocols,” promoting social distancing and handing out soap and cleaning supplies. The agency also said it was trying to space out dormitory sleeping assignments, or have inmates sleep “head-to-toe.”
管理纽约市监狱的纽约市矫正局(New York City Department of Correction)在一份声明中表示，它正在采取一系列措施来保护工人和囚犯，包括筛查、“严格的卫生协议”，促进社交距离，发放肥皂和清洁用品。该机构还表示，他们正试图将宿舍睡眠分配隔开，或者让犯人“从头到脚”睡觉。
“The health and well-being of our personnel and people in custody is our top priority,” the department said in a statement.
“我们的人员和在押人员的健康和福祉是我们的首要任务，”美国国务院在一份声明中表示。
But Kelsey De Avila, head of jail services at Brooklyn Defender Services, a public defender agency, said the city’s responses were inadequate.
但公共辩护机构布鲁克林辩护服务(Brooklyn Defender services)的监狱服务主管凯尔西·德阿维拉(Kelsey De Avila)表示，纽约市的回应力度不够。
“We are running against the clock,” she said. “Our health care system is already overwhelmed and it’s going to get worse in coming days and weeks and we could really help ease that burden by not putting people in jails who’ll be exposed to the virus.”
“我们在和时间赛跑，”她说。“我们的医疗系统已经不堪重负，在未来几天或几周内情况还会变得更糟，我们可以通过不把接触到病毒的人关进监狱来减轻这种负担。”
Another Rikers inmate, who asked to be identified only by his first name, Tyrell, said he has watched several other men fall ill and be removed from his dormitory without any explanation. New inmates have been assigned the empty beds with little apparent cleaning, he said.
另一名赖克斯监狱的犯人提利尔(Tyrell)要求只透露自己的名字。他说，他看到其他几个人也病倒了，在没有任何解释的情况下就被从宿舍里赶了出来。他说，新囚犯被分配到空床上，几乎没有明显的清洁工作。
“I fear for my life,” Tyrell, 30, who is being held on a parole violation, said. “I don’t want to catch coronavirus. I came here healthy and I don’t want to leave here with it.”
“我担心我的生命安全，”30岁的提利尔说。“我不想感染冠状病毒。我健康地来到这里，我不想带着它离开这里。”
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Junior Wilson, 57, in Rikers for an alleged grand larceny and parole violation, said the mood had turned dismal.
57岁的朱尼尔·威尔逊(Junior Wilson)因涉嫌重大盗窃案和违反假释规定在赖克斯(Rikers)服刑。
“They’re not giving us hardly anything to clean with, the bare minimum. Little spray bottles to spray this or that down,” Watson said. “It’s just ridiculous. They’re slowly killing us in here.”
“他们几乎没有给我们任何清洁的东西，这是最起码的。用小喷雾瓶把这个或那个喷下来，”沃森说。“这只是荒谬。他们在这里慢慢地杀害我们。”
Bill, the educational consultant, considers himself lucky. A divorced former lawyer who lives paycheck to paycheck, he spent six days stuck in the floating jail while Legal Aid Society lawyers tried to persuade prosecutors to release him — along with dozens of other people accused of low-level crimes. He was let go after New Jersey prosecutors said that, because of the coronavirus’ impact on the court system, they’d dropped their request to have him extradited from New York.
教育顾问比尔认为自己很幸运。他曾是一名离婚的律师，靠工资生活。他在流动监狱里呆了6天，而法律援助协会的律师们试图说服检察官释放他，以及其他几十名被控低级别犯罪的人。新泽西检察官说，由于冠状病毒对法院系统的影响，他们放弃了将他从纽约引渡的要求，之后他被释放。
Bill said he has been feeling ill since his March 20 release, and has been self-isolating at home in New Jersey. He’s also thinking of those who remain in jail.
比尔说，自从3月20日获释以来，他一直感到不舒服，在新泽西州的家中感到孤独。他也在考虑那些仍在监狱里的人。
“There was a lot of uncertainty and fear,” he said. “We were told to wash our hands and to avoid contact with each other but the reality was that there was no prevention whatsoever. There was nothing being done to protect us.”
“有很多不确定性和恐惧，”他说。“我们被告知要洗手，避免相互接触，但事实是根本没有预防措施。没有采取任何措施来保护我们。”
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