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Ayanna Pressley Calls On Baker To Release Inmates At High Risk Of Covid-19

BOSTON (CBS) - Fresh off her reelection win, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley is calling on Governor Charlie Baker to release more prison inmates at high risk of Covid-19.

In the past month, more than 300 inmates and staff at Massachusetts prisons and jails have tested positive for the virus. Pressley said it's a public health threat.

"With the stroke of a pen, Governor Baker can release incarcerated individuals across our commonwealth who pose no risk to their communities, but are at great risk themselves of contracting and suffering from Covid-19," Pressley said.

Pressley said Massachusetts should follow the lead of New Jersey and California, where 10,000 inmates were released in the past few weeks.

Baker said the state has paroled hundreds of inmates since the pandemic began and prisons are doing a great job keeping the facilities clean and testing inmates.

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