Opinion
Opinion | The rising tide of unnecessary death in Oregon jails
Last April, a 34-year-old U.S. Army veteran named Alex Jimenez was arrested in his hometown of Warrenton as he was walking down the street. When Alex didn’t respond to the officers, they tased him. The officers secured a medical clearance to book Alex in jail and brought him to the Clatsop County Jail. Alex struggled.…
Opinion | A prisoner’s perspective: This moment is about more than COVID-19
From behind prison walls, the business of COVID-19 is much like other external events. Recreational marijuana dispensaries, Donald Trump, the multiple destructions of Puerto Rico, and caged children suffering at our borders — all of these are defining in impact, even to us here, and yet so distant. The television flashes pictures of a little…
Editorial | The prison system cannot be fixed
Expendable. The word refers to something that is normally used up or consumed in service, or something that is more easily replaced than rescued, salvaged or protected. In other words, something suited for abandonment. But expendable can also indicate a choice. In the March 10 edition of the paper, we chronicle the deaths of all the…
News
These are the 42 Oregon state prisoners who have died from COVID-19
Chronicled in this special report are the 42 prisoners who, as of press time, had died of COVID-19 while serving time in Oregon state prisons. All were men. Some, serving long sentences, would have died in prison whether they contracted the virus or not. But many would have been released with years of life left…
COVID-19 in Oregon’s prisons: Phyll Mendacino advocated for Indigenous rights behind bars
Phyll Mendacino, 65 Died Jan. 26, 2021 Two Rivers Correctional Institution Release date: Sept. 2, 2023 (tentative parole) Read more profiles of Oregon state prisoners who died from COVID-19 Phyll Ambrose Mendacino (Phillip Red Woman) passed away Jan. 26 at Trios Health in Kennewick, Washington. He was 65. He belonged to the Northern Cheyenne…
COVID-19 in Oregon’s prisons: James Hargrave had a big heart
James Hargrave, 70 Died Jan. 20, 2021 Two Rivers Correctional Institution Release date: Life, no parole date set Read more profiles of Oregon state prisoners who died from COVID-19 Most people in the Bend area knew James “Jim” Hargrave as a man who went to prison following a tragic, fatal encounter with one of his…
COVID-19 in Oregon’s prisons: Bernardino Garcia was committed to preserving his Indigenous culture
Bernardino Garcia, 32 Died Dec. 30, 2020 Oregon State Penitentiary Release date: Nov. 7, 2022 Read more profiles of Oregon state prisoners who died from COVID-19 When Bernardino “Bernie” Garcia was sent to a correctional facility closer to his home, his friends, family and fellow members of the Siletz Tribe — who had all…
COVID-19 in Oregon’s prisons: Brian McCarvill was an anarchist who fought for prison abolition
Brian McCarvill, 68 Died Sept. 27, 2020 Snake River Correctional Institution Release date: July 6, 2026 Read more profiles of Oregon state prisoners who died from COVID-19 Brian C. McCarvill died on Sept. 27, 2020 — his 68th birthday. He was a longtime anarchist and jailhouse lawyer. He contracted the virus while incarcerated in Snake…
Why The Marshall Project is tracking COVID-19 in America’s prisons
The Marshall Project has been tracking confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths within America’s state and federal prisons since March. In April, about a month into the project, its collected data already showed cases were more than doubling within the nation’s prisons each week. While new confirmed cases of COVID-19 at this stage in the pandemic…
‘Set up to fail’: Ex-prisoners speak out as Oregon lawmakers consider Measure 11 reforms
Kenneth McGee ran into an old acquaintance online Feb. 25 during a public hearing on House Bill 2002 on criminal justice reform. It was former Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge Kenneth Walker who sentenced McGee to five years in prison as part of a plea deal to avoid the mandatory sentences Oregon voters imposed in…
