Escalating liabilities soar faster than lawmakers appropriate money to pay settlements.
By Nigel Jaquiss
Oregon Journalism Project
Last month, Oregon agreed to pay $49 million to COVID-afflicted state prison inmates. It’s the state’s biggest payout ever — and underscores an underlying liability that is far larger.
The estates of 38 inmates who died are set to receive $33.1 million; $15.9 million will go to 5,000 inmates who contracted the virus while in custody.
Although…