The Washington State Reformatory, which is a prison that houses almost 800 people, is about to receive federal stimulus checks.
In November, the IRS declared that incarcerated individuals qualified for the one-time $1,200 checks that were part of Congress' first stimulus bills passed in March. But more important than the money is the message it communicates. As the days and weeks went on, more and more talk about what to do continued to echo through the prison. The majority of the incarcerated individuals within my facility come from communities of extreme poverty. Every one of us could use this money to help support our loved ones. Guys were considering filing no matter what, willing to accept the major infraction and whatever else came with obtaining the money.
But then, on September 24, 2020, a federal court in the Northern District of California entered a preliminary injunction against the federal government ruling in favor of prisoners' ability to apply for a stimulus check. Without the aforementioned threats in play, due to the successful lawsuit filed on the CARES Act by Lieff Cabraser Heimann and Bernstein LLC, prisoners have started to apply for and receive their checks.
He had a look in his eyes that is rare to see within the confinements of prison: pride. The ability to support those who had stood behind him meant more to Jessy than anything, the money was insignificant, but what it could offer was not. Nevertheless, some prisoners have nowhere else to send their checks, so they are willing to accept the heavy WDOC penalty. They see the stimulus check as a blessing and are happy to get anything from their government.