Inmates' families protested outside of FCI Elkton Prison Saturday afternoon, saying there is no way to use social distancing, there is not enough medical staff and guards needed to handle the COVID-19 crisis inside prison grounds.  

Two protesters who want to remain anonymous spoke with 21 News.

One woman said that her husband was inside and she has kids who need their father home.

She also expressed her feelings that because she said the coronavirus is running rampant inside the prison facilities, that not releasing the non-violent offenders to home monitoring, is potentially sentencing the inmates to a death sentence.

The mother went on to say it would be more responsible to release them with an ankle monitor or home confinement and have them go back when they get the deadly COVID-19  contained.

Another protester said that prisoners who have symptoms but do not have bad enough symptoms are sent back to the prison where they can potentially infect other inmates and even guards who have to go home to their families.

She said the system should be fixed to help reduce the risk of spreading this deadly virus to help save lives for both inmates and staff. 

Protesters added that the prison might have a monetary motive for keeping inmates who are non-violent and fit the criteria the Attorney General set for home confinement release. 

21 News confirmed there are four nurses for the two facilities at Elkton, which are minimum-security facilities.

The union, which represents the federal corrections officers, said there is also a shortage of corrections officers.

President of American Federation of Government Employees, AFGE Local 607 Joseph Mayle said, "The national guardsmen sent to assist corrections officers is a help, but not a solution to fix the critical staffing shortage at federal correctional institutions across our country."

The numbers as of Saturday from FCI Elkton show two inmates are under quarantine, 41 are isolated, 41 are in the hospital, 17 are on a ventilator, three have died and ten inmates who are not quite ill enough to go to the hospital are under National Guard observation.

Fourteen staff members have tested positive for COVID-19 in total, while 13 inmates are affected.

Mayle said, "The Bureau of Prisons provided three tests for inmates, the Columbiana Health Department gave us 80 tests which we appreciate, but there are around 2,500 inmates here. No tests were provided for our 320 union or staff members." 

In 2016, the Bureau of Prisons cut 6,000 corrections officers, and in 2005, they had slashed positions down to minimum bare-bones staffing, according to Mayle.

"Our corrections officers are working 12 hours on and 12 off. We have been told to presume we have all been exposed and are told we can't go anywhere except work and home. We knew the risks to ourselves but we didn't sign on to risk our families' lives," added Mayle. "It is not right that when we have been exposed to someone who has COVID-19 or who died later from COVID-19 that we can not take off unless we use our vacation and sick leave first when they are the ones getting us sick.  We believe more could have been done to help stop the spread of COVID-19 at these facilities. We should be allowed to use family leave like people who work in the private sector can. Why did Congress leave us out and not work to help our families?"