'Squad' member Ayanna Pressley calls for commuting prisoner sentences over coronavirus

Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley argued now is the time to commute the sentences of some federal prisoners who are vulnerable to the coronavirus outbreak.

Pressley, who is a member of the liberal contingent of four women in Congress known as “the Squad,” told Al Sharpton on his MSNBC show Saturday that she and some other Democrats were advocating for the “compassionate” releases of inmates.

“This pandemic, COVID-19, has certainly highlighted and exasperated every socio, ratio, and political fault line in our country. And I'm just advocating to make sure that when we are talking about those that are most vulnerable, our low-income residents and citizens, those experiencing homelessness, our seniors, that we are also including the incarcerated men and women, who are certainly amongst one of the most vulnerable populations. And given the crowding and overpopulating in our prisons for a confluence of other reasons ... are an ecosystem in a petri dish for the spreading of this pandemic, which is why I partnered with my colleagues, Reps. [Nydia] Velasquez, [Alexandria] Ocasio-Cortez, and [Rashida] Tlaib, to lobby the Bureau of Prisons to use their full power and to communicate guidance for how we will contain and mitigate this epidemic behind the wall," she said.

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