#FreeAndSafe from COVID-19 - Advancement Project - Advancement Project

#FreeAndSafe from COVID-19

It's not too late to decarcerate!

Advancement Project National Office and other national civil rights and racial justice organizations are taking legal action to protect people in jails and prisons.

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! We won in Oakland County, Michigan and we will win again!

 

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 health care. 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 health care 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.

Decarceration and COVID-19: Stories and Strategies from Communities

In the very early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Advancement Project National Office brought together organizers and activists from across the country to discuss how decarceration was an essential strategy for COVID-19 prevention; participants from partner organizations shared strategies and inspirations behind the fight to ensure loved ones and community members inside prions, jails, and immigrations detention centers are #FreeAndSafe.

If you live in Detroit, East Baton Rouge, Miami, or St. Louis, Ben & Jerry's is helping you find your local elected officials. Use this tool to call for incarcerated persons to be #FreeAndSafe from COVID-19!

To take action in St. Louis:

Call Mayor Lyda Krewson:
(314) 622-3201

Tweet at Mayor Lyda Krewson:
@LydaKrewson

Petition to Missouri State Leaders

Miami

Detroit

East Baton Rouge

Sign on to our petition to tell Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards it's time to release incarcerated persons today.

Petition to Louisiana Governor
John Bel Edwards

Take actions to #FreeThemAll for immigrant justice:

Decarceration Webinar Presentation Slides with Additional Links to Resources

Watch the Full Decarceration Webinar

Template Letter for ICE and Corrections

KEEP READING

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The Best Mother’s Day Gift is Freedom

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Black Mama Bailout: #FreeBlackWomxn

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Photo of the back of a police officer
More Cop Convictions Won’t Stop Racist Police Violence

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