NAPLES, Fla. — A Southwest Florida mother shares the conditions her son is seeing inside the Naples jail after learning that 45 inmates have tested positive for COVID-19.
“They are in county jail, some of them haven’t even got to court yet and they are killing them before they’ve even seen a judge, ” said Virginia Terry.
According to the Collier County Sheriff's Office, several inmates are experiencing mild symptoms, but most are asymptomatic.
Terry’s son was arrested over a year and a half ago on drug charges and is still awaiting charges in the Naples jail.
“He’s an addict and he’s made some mistakes and he just wants another chance, ” said Terry.
She details a first-hand account of the conditions in the Naples jail.
Terry fears her son may contract the virus if current conditions aren't improved.
“Their beds are two feet apart from each other, they don’t have masks on the people that are positive, the only ones that have hazmat outfits on are the officers, ” said Terry.
CCSO says all facilities have been following CDC guidelines, sanitizing, screening for symptoms, and isolating inmates before bringing them to the general population.
A mother who’s son is in a Florida prison says just the opposite, claiming animal-like conditions.
“This is America and we need to treat our prisoners with just a little bit of respect, ” said Delores Spencer.
She is urging Governor Desantis and local leaders to fight for the rights of all people, even those in jails and prisons.
“They just need to be treated like human beings, because they are, ” said Spencer.
The Collier County Sheriffs Office tells Fox 4 that jails and prisons are particularly vulnerable to outbreaks because it is a contained environment.
