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Two law professors hope to keep prisons from reclaiming pandemic parolees

Behind bars
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Behind bars

At the height of the pandemic, the Federal Bureau Of Prisons took a major step towards flattening the curve by allowing thousands of prisoners convicted of low-level crimes to go home.

It was an effort to put more social distance between the inmates who remained.

Now, two local attorneys say the system has been re-imprisoning many of those people who were previously released.

The lawyers say the catalyst is often minor offenses like testing positive for marijuana or, in one case, making an unapproved trip to a smart-phone repair shop.

This despite the fact that many of these people had re-established key support roles in their family's lives.

Yale law professor Marisol Orihuela and Quinnipiac law professor Sarah Russell are fighting to keep such low level re-offenders from re-entering the system.

They both spoke about the problem on "All Things Considered."

John Henry Smith is Connecticut Public’s host of All Things Considered, its flagship afternoon news program. He's proud to be a part of the team that won a regional Emmy Award for The Vote: A Connecticut Conversation. In his 21st year as a professional broadcaster, he’s covered both news and sports.

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