35 Organizations Are Asking Governor Walz To Release Prisoners

A draft executive order was sent from the Minnesota American Civil Liberties Union with the support of 34 other organizations that asks Governor Tim Walz to authorize the release of certain prisoners from correctional facilities. They cite the risk of COVID-19 transmission among inmates and staff at the Moose Lake/ Willow River correctional facility. This is the second time they have urged the Governor to release prisoners.

They propose that inmates who meet one of the criteria below and have a safe place to go when released, should be allowed to be home under confinement.

1. If the prisoner is 55 or older or especially vulnerable with underlying diseases such as heart disease, respiratory illness, cancer, diabetes, asthma, or having a weakened immune system.
2.  Have less than a year left on their sentence.
3.  Be in custody for violating probation and not committing a new crime.

They also are asking the similar actions to be taken at jails and juvenile centers. The ACLU is also asking that citations be issued in situations when appropriate instead of making an arrest.

The ACLU says they also have the backing from these organizations:

Asian American Organizing Project   

All Square  

Black Immigrant Collective  

Black Visions Collective  

CAIR - MN  

Communities United Against Police Brutality  

Convivencia Hispana  

Episcopal Church in MN  

Filipinx for Immigrant rights & Racial justice Minnesota  

Interfaith Coalition on Immigration  

Isaiah  

Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee  

Jewish Community Action  

Legal Rights Center  

Mankato UCC  

Minnesota Conference of the United Church of Christ  

Minnesota Council of Churches  

Minnesota Educators Against ICE  

Minnesota Freedom Fund   

Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC)  

NAACP - Minneapolis  

National Lawyers Guild - MN chapter  

National Lawyers Guild - St. Thomas Law School Chapter  

National Lawyers Guild - University of Minnesota Law School Chapter  

Navigate/Unidos   

Release MN 8  

Sanctuary and Resistance to Injustice  

Second Chance Coalition  

Social Justice Committee of the Lyndale United Church of Christ  

Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services (SMRLS)  

Take Action Minnesota  

Voices for Racial Justice  

We Rise  

Women's March Minnesota