Skip to main content
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown on Friday advised Colette Peters, director of the Oregon Department of Corrections, to perform a case-by-case analysis of adults in custody who are vulnerable to COVID-19 and whose sentences could be commuted.
"Medically vulnerable adults in custody who are eligible for commutation, do not pose an unacceptable risk to public safety, and are determined by DOC to meet the criteria will have the remainder of their term of incarceration commuted, pursuant to my authority as governor, under Article V, Section 14 of the Oregon Constitution," Brown wrote in the June 12 letter.
The decision marks a shift in Brown's attitude toward the mass release of prisoners during the pandemic: In April she declined to do so after ODOC provided her a list of hundreds of inmates vulnerable to the virus, The Oregonian reported.
Oregon prisons have at points become hot spots for COVID-19 in the state, largely due to the fact that detainees live in close quarters with scant access to personal protective equipment or sanitizer.
"Given what we now know about the disease and its pervasiveness in our communities," Brown added, "it is appropriate to release individuals who face significant health challenges should they contract COVID-19."
The criteria for commuting sentences includes the following:
- Be particularly vulnerable to COVID-19, as identified by DOC medical staff;
- Not be serving a sentence for a person crime;
- Have served at least 50% of their sentence;
- Have a record of good conduct for the last 12 months;
- Have a suitable housing plan;
- Have their out-of-custody health care needs assessed and adequately addressed; and
- Not present an unacceptable safety, security, or compliance risk to the community.
The governor asked Peters to provide her a list of all adults in custody who meet the above criteria. If they qualify for their sentence to be commuted, they will need to take a COVID-19 test prior to being released, Brown said.
The Oregon Justice Resource Center said in a statement issued Friday that the organization is glad to see that the governor "has now recognized what we have been saying for months."
"We're glad the governor has made the right choice in preparing to release people who are most vulnerable to serious and even fatal harm if they contract COVID-19," OJRC spokeswoman Alice Lundell said. "We're concerned that the number of cases of the disease continue to grow in prison and we look forward to hearing more from Governor Brown about how she plans to address this."