Federal Judge Orders Miami Jail To Follow CDC Guidelines Amid COVID-19 Outbreak - Advancement Project - Advancement Project

Federal Judge Orders Miami Jail To Follow CDC Guidelines Amid COVID-19 Outbreak

Media Contacts:

Maya Boddie, [email protected]
Amber English Coleman, [email protected]
Takara Robinson, [email protected]

 

 

Local and national civil rights organizations win order to ensure the health and safety of people confined in Metro West Detention Center’s jail cells

MIAMI, FL – In federal court on April 29, Advancement Project National Office, Community Justice Project, Inc., Civil Rights Corps, GST LLP, DLA Piper and Dream Defenders, won an order for Miami’s Metro West Detention Center to follow the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) Health Guidelines for the next 45 days.

This preliminary injunction comes after the groups won a Temporary Restraining Order against Miami-Dade Department of Corrections on April 7, requiring Metro West Detention Center to provide basic sanitizing items to the almost 2,000 people confined there, to protect vulnerable people inside the jail.

[CLICK HERE TO READ THE WIN] 

“The decision to demand Metro West jail to follow the CDC’s guidelines to ensure the health and safety of people currently confined there is a step in the right direction,” the group said in a joint statement. “Since it is nearly impossible to practice social distancing in jail cells, it’s disappointing that the court failed to order the release of vulnerable people trapped living in the horrific conditions there. The lives of thousands of people are at risk, and we won’t stop fighting for them and their families.”

After an April 18 inspection of Metro West by expert doctors, the court agreed with the finding that “an urgent reduction in the population in this facility and increased screening for COVID19 infection among the staff and inmates to mitigate the spread of this infection within the community.”

Within the 53-page decision, the court makes it clear that social distancing is “simply not possible at Metro West without a dramatic, immediate reduction in the facility’s population.” The court goes on to conclude that social distancing “has not been and cannot be achieved absent an additional reduction in Metro West’s population or some other measure to achieve meaningful social distancing.”

Confinement conditions are so bad at Metro West that incarcerated people there have started a hunger strike to demand their immediate release. “The jail system isn’t equipped to keep us safe during the pandemic,” one participant – who requested anonymity for his safety – stated. “How long are we expected to sit in here? How many rights is the government allowed to strip away during a global pandemic?”

In efforts to pressure local and state governments to release people immediately, Advancement Project National Office and Dream Defenders have created advocacy tools as a call to action for #FreeAndSafe communities in Florida and beyond.

This case is one of several nationwide that aims to secure the release of thousands of incarcerated people who are in grave danger of contracting COVID-19. Advancement Project National Office and Civil Rights Corps have brought similar challenges in Detroit and Oakland, Michigan, and St. Louis. Civil Rights Corps is also challenging confinement conditions and release in Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas, and Prince George’s County, Maryland.

###

KEEP READING

Racial Justice Organization Advancement Project Responds to President Biden’s State of the Union Address

WASHINGTON, DC – In reaction to the State of the Union, Judith Browne Dianis, Executive Director of Advancement Project, a national racial justice organization, issued this statement: “Tonight’s State of the Union, held just weeks after the killing of Tyre Nichols, did little to address the core problems inherent in policing.  “While President Biden acknowledged the pain and grief of families like the parents of Tyre Nichols, his administration’s efforts to put more money and resources into policing will only result in more murders of Black people by the hands of police.

Read More
Advancement Project Responds to Reports Of Memphis Police Officers Charged Over Tyre Nichols Killing

Leading Racial Justice Organization Calls for World Where Black People Are Free WASHINGTON, DC —  In response to reports that five former Memphis police officers are charged with the murder and kidnapping of Tyre Nichols, Judith Browne Dianis, executive director of Advancement Project released this statement: “Today, three weeks after Tyre Nichols’ brutal killing, it was announced that five former Memphis police officers were indicted on charges including murder and kidnapping. While it is rare to see cops face any accountability for their actions, this is hardly a victory. Nothing can bring…

Read More
We Cannot Keep Doing Business As Usual: Response to Biden’s “Safer America Plan”

Civil Rights Organization on President Biden’s “Safer America Plan” Says Increase of Police Officers in Communities Will Not Only Fail to Improve Public Safety, But Also Lead to More Harm to Communities of Color Washington, DC – In response to the “Safer America Plan” announced by President Joe Biden on Tuesday in Philadelphia, Liyah Brown, program director for the Justice Project at Advancement Project National Office, issued this statement:  “President Biden’s call for an increase of police officers in our communities will not only fail to improve…

Read More
Leading Civil Rights Group on Reports Federal Officials Have Charged Four Current and Former Police Officers in the Killing of Breonna Taylor

Statement from Judith Browne Dianis, executive director of Advancement Project – National Office, a leading civil rights organization, on reports that federal officials have charged four current and former police officers involved in the fatal raid that killed Breonna Taylor, of several crimes, including lying to obtain a warrant that was used to search her home:  “Today, by moving forward with criminal charges against the four police officers involved in the killing of Breonna Taylor as she slept in her bed, federal officials are recognizing what we have all known for years: Breonna Taylor should be alive…

Read More
Invest in People, Not Police

July 22, 2022 Contact: Yasmeen Ramahi, [email protected] “Invest in People, Not Police” Advancement Project National Office Response to Joe Biden’s “Safer America Plan” Washington, DC – In response to the “Safer America Plan” introduced by President Joe Biden on Thursday, Liyah Brown, program director for the Justice Project at Advancement Project National Office, issued this statement:  “President Biden’s call for an increase of 100,000 police officers in our communities will not only fail to improve public safety, but will…

Read More
Civil Rights Org Advancement Project National Office Responds to Biden’s Policing Order

NATIONAL – Today, on the two-year anniversary of George Floyd’s murder by Minneapolis police and the subsequent uprisings across the country calling for an overhaul of police and policing, President Biden signed an Executive Order that aims to cut down on police abuse and misconduct. In response, Judith Browne Dianis, Executive Director of the national civil rights group Advancement Project National Office, wrote this statement: “On the anniversary of the day when George Floyd was killed by state-sanctioned police violence, we are glad to see President Biden creating an initiative that aims to curtail police abuse…

Read More
Advancement Project Calls on America to Move Beyond Police and Prisons: “We Can’t Reform This System”

A year after George Floyd’s murder, Advancement Project National Office reflects on how to build a #FreeandSafe society for all people of color.

Read More
The Best Mother’s Day Gift is Freedom

By Ashley Carter, Justice Project Program Deputy Director and Senior Staff Attorney Photo credit: Cyndi Elledge // Photos are a part of the #FreeBlackWomxn series. Visit www.freeblackwomxn.org. Thousands of women with children across the United States will spend this Mother’s Day behind bars. The crisis of mass incarceration has fueled a family separation endemic: more than 150,000 children have a parent who is in jail simply because they are too poor to afford their court-imposed cash bail. This year we are working to support the 2021 Black Mama’s Day Bailout organized and led by our community partners…

Read More
Black Mama Bailout: #FreeBlackWomxn

Michigan Liberation and the Advancement Project National Office have launched the #FreeBlackWomxn campaign, a photo and storytelling project that elevates the voices of Black Michigan mothers who have experienced incarceration. We are honored that Kimberly, Machelle, Geneva, Darnita, Dominica, Irene, and Tamika shared their stories with us. Click each woman’s photo below to read their experience with incarceration. In Spring 2019, Michigan…

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

By Thomas B. Harvey, Justice Project Program Director Last week, as people across America waited for a verdict in Derek Chauvin’s trial, police in Ohio murdered a 16-year-old girl, Ma’Khia Bryant. As Chauvin was found guilty on three counts for murdering George Floyd in Minneapolis, Ma’Khia Bryant lay dead in the street in Columbus. Credit: Fred Moon While we should hope that Chauvin’s conviction brings some peace and healing to George Floyd’s family, friends, and the broader Minneapolis community, Ma’Khia’s murder reinforced a disturbing reality: individual convictions are irrelevant to the movement to end police violence. Cops will continue to…

Read More