At the onset of the pandemic, Michele drafted this rapid response paper detailing strategies that sheriffs could implement in order to prevent and respond to the spread of COVID-19 in jails.

As the PLRA hits age fifteen, it is high time for us to recognize that states need to create a more sustainable and effective model of correctional oversight than the courts can provide. This oversight function is critical, and the PLRA should not be allowed to slam the iron gates shut on prisons and render their operations invisible to the public eye.

This state-by-state inventory of independent oversight mechanisms for correctional institutions was initiated to provide a baseline understanding about the extent of such oversight in the United States. This project was a monumental undertaking as it involved identification and analysis of prison and jail oversight mechanisms in all 50 states and the federal system. This information has never been compiled previously.