In a harrowing event at Mountain View Correctional Institution in North Carolina, over 550 incarcerated individuals were trapped in the prison during Hurricane Helene. For five excruciating days, these men endured flooded cells, were forced to live alongside their own waste, and faced severe shortages of food and water, all while locked in their cells with no means of communication with the outside world.
Their families spent a week with no information, worried out of their minds. One inmate told their spouse, "We thought we were going to die there. We didn't think anybody was going to come back for us."
Sign this petition to demand the Department of Justice establish and enforce comprehensive emergency safety protocols in all correctional facilities across the country to prevent something like this from ever happening again.
The fact that this facility did not have an effective emergency protocol for natural disasters is a disgrace. This horrible situation exposed a grave lack of preparedness and regard for human life within our prison system, especially during natural disasters.
Since then, it's been reported that several Florida jails and prisons refused to evacuate ahead of Hurricane Milton. This is a national human rights crisis.
It's crucial that we demand the implementation of stringent safety protocols to safeguard the lives of those who are incarcerated.
Sign the petition to join us in calling for a government mandate that requires all correctional facilities to have a disaster response plan that prioritizes evacuation, human dignity, and safety.
