‘We Went from Almost No Lockdowns to Daily Lockdowns’: The Mental Health Crisis Inside California Women’s Prison

April 29, 2023

(STAT News) – When the pandemic hit in 2020, health experts quickly raised the alarm about the unique risks the virus would pose for both the physical and mental health of incarcerated people. Many of those fears came to fruition — and research and interviews suggest that the extended lockdowns introduced in the wake of the pandemic continue to take a toll on prisoners’ mental health and well-being. In STAT’s interviews with more than a half-dozen women who are incarcerated in California, many described the post-pandemic era as their most difficult period of incarceration. Every single woman also said that these lockdowns haven’t let up in the three years since the pandemic started. (Read More)