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Marylanders Worry About Loved Ones Behind Bars Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Martina Hazelton and Julie Magers both have husbands who are behind bars.

"Covid-19 is a death sentence for those that are inside," Hazelton said.

Her husband is serving twenty-seven years for felony murder charges in a Maryland correctional facility.

But Magers says his prison sentence that mean her husband should be at risk for the virus.

"People were not sentenced to death, they were not sentenced to this virus," she said during a virtual press conference Wednesday held by the Justice Policy Institute (JPI).

During the call, advocates called for Governor Hogan to release the incarcerated who can safely be released and halt new admissions to correctional facilities.

CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE:

"In every other are, Governor Hogan is following all the guidelines except as it related to the incarceration population," said Keith Wallington at JPI.

When asked about this last month, Gov. Hogan said that people in correctional facilities are "kind of protected in quarantine."

The Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services says they've enhanced their hygiene and sanitation practices.

Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby is dismissing some pending criminal charges for nonviolent offenses.

But others are pushing for more action.

For the latest information on coronavirus go to the Maryland Health Department's website or call 211. You can find all of WJZ's coverage on coronavirus in Maryland here.

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