Releasing prisoners from prison on the grounds of COVID-19
It is clear that for there to be justice; both parties must be able to appreciate and feel that indeed justice was done. Most of the people in prison are there not for their excellent work but because of their criminal involvement. By the fact that there is a need to deliver justice on both parties that are the victim and the defendant, the defendant must be able to serve their full term in jail. In that, if someone was jailed for 30 years and they have only served for about five years releasing them from prison on the grounds of COVID-19 will be a miscarriage of justice (Alvarez et al., 2020). The victim will not be able to get justice in that in the lens of justice, the victim only gets justice when their tormentor gets the chance to serve the 30-year sentence that they were meant to serve.
Another thing is that COVID-19 is a global pandemic that will certainly end at some point. This is based on the fact that in some areas such as Denmark, normalcy seems to be returning. This will mean that after the pandemic is over, someone will have benefited from a short term situation to get a long term benefit. There is no need for one to be released on the grounds of COVID-19 only for the pandemic to end in less than one year, but the beneficiary will enjoy freedom for the rest of their lives unless convicted for another crime (Jones & Tulloch, 2020). This will surely be a miscarriage for justice. The final aspect is that jail and incarceration usually serve as a way of deterring people from committing the crime by knowing that there will be punishment in the name of a jail term that they have to serve. If they are released as soon as possible all because of the virus, they may not be able to learn such. It is necessary to address the issue by ensuring that there is movement in and out of the prisons across the country that may put the life of prisoners and correctional officers at risk. For jail terms, there is no question people, should serve the jail terms in totality.
References
Alvarez, S., Kopke, A., Stein, M., & Tiley, M. (2020). Strategies for Emergency Release of Incarcerated People during Covid-19 Outbreak.
Jones, L., & Tulloch, O. (2020). COVID-19: Why Are Prisons a Particular Risk, and What Can Be Done to Mitigate this?.