What Happens to Prisoners in Hurricane Florence’s Path?

MacDougall Correctional, South Carolina

As Hurricane Florence bears down on the eastern seaboard, residents of Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina are preparing for what the National Hurricane Center says will be an “extremely dangerous major hurricane.” Hundreds of thousands of people have already evacuated from the coastline. South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster said Wednesday that more than 300,000 people had evacuated the state’s coasts ahead of Florence. All three states ordered mass evacuations along the coast, and FEMA is warning that it’s essential for people to abide by evacuation orders.

But some prisons, located in evacuation zones, and not being evacuated. Instead, prisoners are being made to ride out the hurricane in their cells, in a move that human rights activists are denouncing as inhumane and reckless.

Here’s what you need to know.

In Virginia, Three Local Prisons in the Evacuation Zone Say They’re Not Evacuating

ACLU of Virginia✔@ACLUVA

It is concerning that these local jails are planning not to evacuate for #HurricaneFlorence . People who are incarcerated deserve safety & should not be subjected to the traumatic experience of weathering this hurricane in the most at-risk areas. https://pilotonline.com/news/local/weather/storms/article_724526b4-b5f5-11e8-8fcd-eb57eec25ab6.html …

7:16 PM – Sep 11, 2018

State prison evacuated in Chesapeake, but local jails hunker down for Hurricane Florence

Three local city jails – Chesapeake, Norfolk and Portsmouth – sit in Zone A, the evacuated area. The sheriff’s offices that oversee those jails said they do not plan to

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There are three local jails- Chesapeake, Norfolk and Portsmouth — in Virginia’s Zone A, which has been ordered to evacuate. But the sheriff’s office says there are no plans to evacuate those prisons. The sheriff’s office has not explained the reasoning behind their decision, but in the past, law enforcement officials have argued that moving prisoners is more dangerous that leaving them in place.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) says that “leaving incarcerated people trapped in prisons or jails in the path of a hurricane can result in harm or death, and is completely inexcusable.” And the ACLU of Virginia is warning that the experience could be traumatic, at best. The group says, “it is concerning that these local jails are planning not to evacuate for #HurricaneFlorence . People who are incarcerated deserve safety & should not be subjected to the traumatic experience of weathering this hurricane in the most at-risk areas.”

In South Carolina, Officials Say They Have No Plans to Move Prisoners Who Are Right in the Path of the Hurricane

MacDougall Correctional Institution is located in Berkeley County, which is under a mandatory evacuation order from the governor. But law enforcement officials say they are not planning to move the inmates — even as Hurricane Florence bears down on the jail.

The medium-security prison can house up to 700 prisoners.

Vice News reports that South Carolina has not evacuated any of its prisons during a hurricane since 1999, Hurricane Floyd hit.

“We’re monitoring the situation,” South Carolina Department of Corrections spokesperson Dexter Lee told VICE News. “Previously, it’s been safer to stay in place with the inmates rather than move to another location.”

 In North Carolina, Prisons in Florence’s Path Are Being Evacuated

Law enforcement officials in North Carolina told Vice News that they were evacuating all of their prisoners — and staff — because of safety concerns.

“We’re moving inmates and staff because of what we feel is safety concerns based on the information we have. It’s safer to move operations away from the storm,” Jerry Higgins, communications officer for prisons at North Carolina’s Department of Public Safety, told VICE News. Higgins acknowledged that it’s a big job to evacuate prisons, but said the risks of not doing it outweighed the work involved.