Judges in Cuyahoga County Court, Ohio are releasing dozens of inmates following a special hearing.
The judges agreed to release a total of 38 inmates incarcerated due to cases “involving low-level, nonviolent offenses,” reports the Washington Examiner.
The decision is being made out of concern about the coronavirus spread. On Saturday morning, 29 inmates arrested in recent days appeared before a judge. These inmates also raise concerns for officials because some could be carriers of the coronavirus which raises the possibility of it being spread throughout the jail.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys were also present in an effort to expedite the process in order to not wait until Monday.
During a briefing with Fox 8, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Mike O’Malley also expressed concerns about the possibility of overcrowding and jails no longer accepting new inmates. O’Malley also suggested that there be a way to isolate new inmates.
“We have to acknowledge that that is a possibility, which makes every day critical, every day between now and God forbid, the day that they stop the flow of our prisoners,” O’Malley said.
Despite concerns about the inmates’ release, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Brendan Sheehan has defended the county’s decision to do so.
“We didn’t just sit here and open the jailhouse doors and let people run out of the jail,” said Sheehan.
He went on to explain why the expedited proceedings were necessary.
“We balanced the need to protect the public and the safety of our inmates, and what we did is, instead of taking a timeline from here to here, we took that timeline and shrunk it to here,”
More hearings are also scheduled to be expedited this week. According to Fox 8, expedited hearings will take place Monday through Thursday of this week.
Over the course of that four-day span, Cuyahoga County hopes to release 200 of the 1,800 currently booked in the county jail.