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Judge: State Prisons Out Of Compliance With COVID-19 Safety Mandate

A unit inside Franklin Correctional Center in Bunn, N.C. (GERRY BROOME/AP)

A North Carolina judge says that state prisons have failed to comply with a court order mandating actions to be taken regarding COVID-19. 

Wake County Superior Court Judge Vinston Rozier Jr. issued a ruling last month saying prison officials needed to come up with a plan to test all inmates for the coronavirus. It also ordered prison transfers to be sharply curtailed, and addressed criteria for expedited early release guidelines.

On Friday, Rozier said that prisons remain out of compliance, and that the court was “extremely concerned by the apparent indifference” of state officials to his ruling.  

According to The News & Observer, the judge said information prison officials have provided since his mandate has been “inconsistent, incomplete and potentially incorrect.”

On Friday, Rozier gave the state until July 27th to provide evidence that it's following his orders, including a detailed plan on preventing the spread of COVID-19. He is also appointing a court liaison to monitor the accuracy of the response from prison officials.

Rozier's original ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by civil rights advocates.

For the most up-to-date information on coronavirus in North Carolina, visit our Live Updates blog here. WFDD wants to hear your stories — connect with us and let us know what you're experiencing.

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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