Imprisoned With COVID-19

Being locked up during lockdown was no joke. When the US began to take measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, prisons also responded. Tim Spock writes candidly about what happened on the inside, from the justified fears (and eventual reality) of uncontrollable outbreaks to the impossibility of social distancing to the prison's ham-fisted attempts to meet the needs of the moment. His account is fascinating, maddening, and horrifying. He draws on his own experiences as well as interviews with fellow inmates and prison staff to show how the pandemic unfolded for the incarcerated, show side effects like increased addiction relapses, and to make a compelling case for more humane conditions and access to meaningful medical care.