As wedding season begins, many brides- and grooms-to-be are feeling relieved about their upcoming summer celebrations, as vaccine eligibility is increasing across the state. But many couples still feel extra wedding stress…
Author: Monica Mellon
A year on, pandemic still slow information to inmates’ families
Sharon Murchinson’s brother Donnell is in prison and may soon be transferred to a new facility, but Murchinson says it’s hard to get more than half an answer from correctional staff. “I…
Temple Law students host panel discussing mental and medical health inside prisons
Crystal Barber, who spent 7 months in a local jail during the pandemic, said serious lockdowns and ignored grievances left her and many others feeling lost. “It was like punishment without reform,”…
Suburban Philadelphia counties are not receiving necessary vaccine doses, demanding transparency
Legislators from the Philadelphia suburbs say the state’s vaccine distribution has been unfair and are calling for more transparency from the Pennsylvania Department of Health. A February report in The Philadelphia Inquirer…
Montgomery County, once leading COVID case numbers, still struggling with vaccine rollout
Marissa Ryan, a Conshohocken resident, says she has put her parents on vaccine waiting lists in their home county, Montgomery, but also in Philadelphia, Lehigh County and New Jersey counties. “I’ve been…
Advocates call for increased vaccine doses in prisons, where outbreaks have been among the worst
Vaccines are rolling out to thousands of at-risk Philadelphians in group 1A, but advocates say prison populations merit increased priority in that group given how difficult it can be to reduce spread…
After 30 years in prison, John Brookins is one step closer to a commutated sentence
The Pennsylvania Board of Pardons advanced the cases of four inmates seeking clemency in a merit review hearing last week, one of which was the case of John Brookins. “Once he realized…
Montgomery County inmates dispute jail’s account of pandemic safety measures
Inmates incarcerated during the pandemic say the Montgomery County Correctional Facility may not deserve the healthcare compliance award it received in December. The jail was commended for its efforts to mitigate the…