Alabama Jail Won’t Give Inmates Mask Because They Say They’ll Eat Them

An Alabama jail has decided not to allow inmates to wear masks that would help prevent the spread of the coronavirus “they’re going to eat them,” an official said in a report.

According to Al.com, Madison County Jail in Huntsville confiscated masks and told inmates they would not give out new ones despite the fact one employee of the jail tested positive.

Even though the CDC highly encourages masks be worn, and some states require them, Brent Patterson, spokesperson for the local sheriff’s office, said they pose a safety threat. 

“You give them face masks [with] a nose piece — metal pieces in them — they’re going to eat them,” he said, according to the outlet. “They’re going to swallow them.” If this were to happen, then Patterson and the jail believe people would be in an uproar on why masks were given to inmates anyway.

In a matter of damn, if you do damn if you don’t, the jail has decided to “don’t.” 

Courtney Moore, 33, was recently arrested on misdemeanor charges at the June 28 protest and said the jail took his mask while booking him into the facility. 

“It’s ridiculous,” Moore told the outlet. “I was exposed to an unsafe condition. I think that is very, very irresponsible of them, knowing how important masks are, to continue to arrest people and put their health at risk.” At the time no one at the facility had tested positive, the first confirmed case was reported last week, but jailers are still refusing masks to inmates. 

It was not reported why the jail thought inmates would eat their masks or if an inmate had previously done so. But regardless, it seems unfair that employees are required to wear masks, but inmates cannot.