Staff shortages, extended lockdowns in coronavirus-ridden Colorado prisons create “tenuous” situations

Prisoners are being fed substandard meals -- sometimes as little as two slices of bread, a piece of bologna, and an apple -- and sometimes are not able to access showers for days at a time, eight families and a former guard said. Staffing is stretched thin as guards fall ill and tensions continue to rise. Some inmates go weeks without stepping outside. Sick prisoners are trading coveted stockpiled foods for Tylenol to relieve their symptoms, families said.