People sitting in jails and prisons are now facing death due to the inaction of public officials across the country during the COVID-19 pandemic. 670,000 people languish in local jails, most of whom have not been convicted of a crime.
During pandemics, jails are ticking time bombs: people are jailed in cramped quarters, cannot practice social distancing and don’t have regular access to soap or adequate healthcare. Jails and prisons fail to provide sufficient hand soap and alcohol-based sanitizers to the people detained in and working in these settings. Once inside this perfect breeding ground, the virus will rapidly spread, leading to countless illnesses and deaths both in and out of the facility.
If these community residents are not released to their families in the coming days, health care services in jails and prisons will quickly be overwhelmed, leaving a devastating death toll. This death toll won’t only affect those inside once the inadequate healthcare inside the jail has been pushed to its limits. We must secure the immediate release of people detained inhumanely and now terrified for their lives amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
We need your help to pressure local and state governments to do the right thing and release people from jails and prisons, allowing them to safely quarantine and social distance in their homes. Call your local public officials (sheriff’s offices, state’s attorneys, governors, etc.) and demand that they take action before it’s too late!
