Putting a stop to private prison contracts cannot address dire conditions for inmates, especially during a pandemic.
![Signs made by prisoners pleading for help are seen on a window of Cook County Jail in Chicago, Illinois, US, April 7, 2020, amid the COVID-19 outbreak [File: Jim Vondruska/Reuters]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/RTS38DU5-1.jpg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)