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Lawsuit filed over coronavirus outbreak at Arkansas prison.
https://apnews.com/a4c42840e6e742ae72011a8684cc4798LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Civil rights groups filed a lawsuit Tuesday accusing Arkansas of not taking adequate steps to prevent the spread of coronavirus in its prisons after more than a third of the inmates at one facility tested positive.
The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Disability Rights Arkansas and the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas filed the lawsuit in federal court on behalf of nearly a dozen inmates, including three at the Cummins Unit. Officials on Tuesday said 670 inmates and at least 10 staff at the facility have tested positive.
The lawsuit claims inmates in the state’s prisons frequently lack ready access to sanitizer, soap, cleaning products and personal protective equipment.
The lawsuit seeks the release of elderly or disabled inmates at high risk of contracting coronavirus or for them to be transferred to home confinement. It also asks the court to appoint an expert to recommend how many prisoners can be housed at each prison in order to follow federal guidance on preventing the spread of the virus.