Common Campaigns for Early Prison Release Amid COVID-19 With #WeMatterToo

Inmates are often overlooked whenever anything goes wrong, and this is the case during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s a troubling time for them,” the rapper and activist said, “because they are the people who usually are overlooked.”

The actor’s criminal justice reform group launched the #WeMatterToo campaign advocating for the early release of inmates who served majority of their sentence and have a pre-existing health conditions.

Thousands of inmates have already been released due to the pandemic, but the campaign’s supporters wants the government to cover housing and testing for released inmates.

Common hopes to raise awareness about the high risks inmates are exposed to during the pandemic. “We all have unanswered questions about the pandemic,” the Grammy and Academy Award winning rapper said. “But being in prison adds new levels to that questioning, because of the way that people have been treated in prison.”