South Pima News

Arizona sheriffs are releasing inmates from jail to reduce the jail population and encouraging officers to use citations and not arrests in an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19. 

Pima County Sheriff Mark Napier said his jail doesn't have the capacity to hold many quarantined inmates. To reduce the amount of people in his jail, Napier is releasing 135 people on probation or moving them to a state prison. 

He also said sentences could be suspended for individuals who serve their time on weekends or to have individuals finish their sentences at one time. 

Napier asked the courts to lessen the sentence by half the time for those convicted of a nonviolent crime and he recommends local police not to book individuals for misdemeanors, but it is not a requirement. 

His decisions and suggestions are meant to be used as a guide to help reduce the amount of inmates in the jail, Napier said to the Associated Press in an email. 

But sheriffs can't just release inmates from jail. Judges and persecutors make those decisions. 

Joel Feinman, Pima County public defender, said jail population should be decreased as a way to protect those too poor to pay a bond. 

“We are condemning poor people to illness and death because they are poor,” Feinman said to the Arizona Daily Star. “Not because they are a threat to the community, but because they are poor.”

Tony Estrada, Sana Cruz County sheriff, said it goes against law enforcement to release inmates early, but is necessary to prevent COVID-19 from spreading in jails. 

“This is unprecedented,” Estrada said in an interview with the Arizona Daily Star. “No doubt about it. We have to use a lot of common sense for this.”

In Coconino County, 50 inmates have been released from jail. 

Jim Driscoll, Coconino County sheriff, said he is trying to protect jail workers, intimates and court employees from the pandemic. 

“This isn’t a pass for people to commit crimes,” Driscoll said to the Arizona Daily Star. “We will still issue citations. All the agencies are doing what’s necessary on enforcement. But we are just trying to minimize the people coming through the jails and the criminal justice system. People will still be held accountable for violations of law.”

Inmates live in close quarters, which makes jails a vulnerable place during the pandemic. In Arizona, jail visitations have been suspended to help reduce the spread of the virus as well. 

Paul Penzone, Maricopa County sheriff, has 7,500 inmates and doesn't plan on releasing any without court orders. 

“Should circumstances obligate him to consider unorthodox steps he will be pragmatic in his decisions,” Maricopa County Sheriff's Office said in a release. “Public safety will always be the dominant influence in his decisions.”

But Penzone did tell officers to use citations instead of arrests if the circumstances allow. 

“I empower you to make the best, safest and most ethical decision in these circumstances, never negating ethical standards,” Penzone said to the Arizona Daily Star.