Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/04/01/new-york-prisoners-offered-6.html
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Wouldn’t cremation be a better solution to lack of burial space? Mass cremation rather than mass burial? Or are there not enough crematoriums to handle the onslaught of bodies?
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Yup, shit is getting real.
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A mass grave isn’t ideal, but respects beliefs of the families of the dead more than cremation does.
And yes, pay these prisoners $15/hr, minimum.
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Jeezus, I thought this would be a repost of a news clipping from the 1918 flu pandemic.
(TBH it was only the optimist in me that was hoping it would be a page from history; deep in my brain I knew it was about current events. )
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From the article: " Prisoners may be safer in the fresh air of Hart Island, digging mass graves while wearing PPE, than sitting back in the unfolding human rights catastrophe that is Rikers, an overcrowded cesspool that has become widely infected with coronavirus."
Maybe not such a bad deal, after all.
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Well then sign up, and get a digging.
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For context, there is generally gravedigging work on Hart Island for Rikers prisoners in ordinary conditions, this isn’t something Completely New in the era of COVID-19.
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Here’s a related bright spot;
A friend of ours is a social worker on Rikers. Last week she was asked to process lower-level offenders for release. Her background is deep in racial justice, but she is usually just allowed to pass the time with inmates with card games and the like. She stayed at her desk until 5:00 am and was able to release 300 individuals. Small victory, but better than digging mass graves at $6/hr.
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Now that’s a hero.
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Yes, there ARE NOT enough crematoria to handle that many bodies in such a short timespan. You’d have rotting corpses stacked to the skies.
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There are historical examples of resolving this problem, but if I said more, Godwin’s Law would shut down any further discussion. 
My grandmother was a refugee who escaped the march of non-Democracy on Austria in 1938, btw.
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Oh FFS!!!
Could we just stop the car so that I can get out?
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Would not the kindest thing be ocean composting?
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Prisoners are particularly vulnerable to coronavirus outbreaks even if they stay inside.
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Because bloated bodies washing up on beaches across the world would be better? Yuck.
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They make a pretty good raft.
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An “either way your fucked” isn’t what I’d call a good argument for this. The National Guard or Army Corps of Engineers are the safest bet for this type of operation, they have the training, expertise, and the equipment.
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