PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Five people demanding better COVID-19 protections for state prison inmates have been arrested outside Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo’s home, state police said.
The protesters with the group Code Black RI were arrested outside the Democratic governor’s Providence home on Wednesday night after blocking the roadway.
The group, which says it is made up of medical professionals, health care workers, and trainees, said they were holding a vigil in response to the recent death of an Adult Correctional Institutions inmate who had the coronavirus.
“We mourn the death of an incarcerated person who died from COVID complications last week, and hold vigil for all those still at risk for untimely death at the ACI,” the group said in a statement.
The group wants the state to release as many inmates as possible on parole and into community confinement, especially those who are older and medically vulnerable, while providing safer conditions inside the prison.
A spokesperson for the Department of Corrections told WLNE-TV that the agency is doing everything it can to control the spread of COVID-19.
An email seeking comment was left with the governor’s office.
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