New York State Has Prisoners Making Hand Sanitizer. It's Unclear If Prisoners Can Use It.
Alcohol-based sanitizers are usually contraband in prisons.
SAMANTHA MICHAELS
Reporter
Hand sanitizer is out of stock at many stores and fetching absurdly high prices on Amazon. So New York will make its own: Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Monday that as part of a response to the coronavirus oubreak, the state will distribute floral-perfumed “NYS Clean” sanitizer to schools and government agencies.
The catch? The new hand sanitizer is produced by people in prison who earn pennies per hour. Because of their poor access to hand-cleaning supplies, these workers face a higher risk of infection from the virus—and it’s not even clear that they themselves will be able to use the sanitizer. At most prisons across the country, inmates aren’t allowed to use hand sanitizer because its alcohol content means it’s considered contraband. In some prisons, soap is in short supply. Combine that with the cramped quarters and spotty medical care in many lockups, and you have the perfect breeding ground for infections.
https://www.motherjones.com/crime-justice/2020/03/new-york-state-has-prisoners-making-hand-sanitizer-its-unclear-if-prisoners-can-use-it/
