Last week, a judge released Paul Manafort from federal prison to home confinement due to concerns over COVID-19. Even though the virus had yet to enter the prison in Pennsylvania where Manafort, President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, was less than two years into a seven-and-a-half-year sentence, the need for urgent action was clear. "Given the growing number of cases in Pennsylvania and increasing challenges in testing inmates and staff," Manafort's lawyers argued, "it is only a matter of time before the infection spreads to staff and inmates...at which time it may be too late."

Manafort's lawyer was correct, and the judge made the only reasonable decision.

Once COVID-19 enters jails, prisons and detention centers, it is impossible for the people who are caged inside to protect themselves. They are unable to social distance. They are crammed shoulder-to-shoulder in cells with dozens of other people. They are not provided basic sanitary products, like soap and cleaning solutions. And when they contract COVID-19, they do not receive proper medical care.