“I’ve been trying to think of an example where one could adequately run an institution or a business and never step foot inside it for over a year,” said UpriseRI. And to think that practically 100% of the incarcerated folks had Covid and they were suffering in there. “I know that with Covid we’re supposed to give her the benefit of a doubt but every single person in those facilities was at risk. To enter the cellblocks when there’s people to impress – but she won’t take her own time to check in and meet folks that she’s supposed to be caring for,” continued Molloy. “I mean, I get it, it’s Covid, you can’t be there every day, it just shows priorities because the Director is showing around Senator Mack and another Representative – That’s her priority.

She told me that this had been the first time she’s been there in a year. “I asked, ‘How often are you getting into the facilities’ – and granted, the Director might say she’s in the facilities because she’s working in her office, which is a separate building – but I had asked how often she gets into the cellblocks. It felt very dehumanizing,” continued Molloy. “You have to remember, they’re caring for these people. We know if something’s wrong’ and then I see the wardens and the Director failing to even say, ‘Hi.’ “There was no ‘Hey, how are you? How’s your day going? I’m Director Coyne-Fague.’ All the correctional officers were saying, ‘We know who’s on our cell blocks.

“During our tour, as the administrators were walking into the cell blocks, they weren’t interacting with incarcerated folks in a positive way,” said Molloy. UpriseRI contacted Katherine Molloy by phone to clarify and expand upon what she said during her testimony. Katherine Molloy, also a campaign intern with Senator Tiara Mack (Democrat, District 6, Providence), accompanied the Senator on a tour of the Adult Correctional Institutions ( ACI) medium, maximum and high security facilities in early May of this year.

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