THREAD
As the #COVID19 pandemic continues to devastate the lives and livelihoods of people across the country, this unprecedented crisis continues to devastate incarcerated people and their families the most.
More than 100,000 people behind bars have tested positive for #COVID19 and more than 1,000 incarcerated people have died.
America’s system of mass incarceration makes us all less safe, especially during a pandemic. People impacted by the criminal justice system are fighting to stay #FreeAndSafe.
Prisons and jails do not have adequate health care facilities to treat the serious complications that can accompany #coronavirus. We need massive economic relief for all of those affected, which has to include people impacted by our criminal justice system. #COVID19
These are some of the people impacted the most during the #COVID19 pandemic.
Share their stories. They should be #FreeAndSafe. FWD.us/FreeAndSafe
Andre had started his 13-hour drive from Louisiana to North Carolina to pick up his father from federal prison when his mother called to tell him to turn around. His father had succumbed to the virus. “I feel like it could have been avoided,” Andre said. washingtonpost.com/local/public-s…
Before passing, Andre's father was given a compassionate release after serving 16 years. The judge who approved of his release said that “he did not deserve to die behind bars.”
Andre's father should have been #FreeAndSafe.
Before Greg was released, Greg was incarcerated at the San Quentin State Prison in California when the #coronavirus outbreak started at the facility. Released early due to #COVID19, Greg describes the ordeal inside ---> sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2020/08/02/cor…
After testing positive for #coronavirus, Greg was released three months early & placed in a hotel to quarantine. Greg described the conditions as “terrible.” “It was people in the middle of the night passing out or calling ‘man down’ when there was a #COVID19 medical emergency.”
On one of the hottest days in Texas, Daisy found out her husband, along with many others in a prison, tested positive for #coronavirus and had no air conditioning in his unit. dallasnews.com/news/investiga…
Men inside the prison say that the “pain and fear of battling #COVID19 is being exacerbated by the inescapable heat.”
Before Daisy's husband got sick, he was denied parole. He told Daisy, “I’m scared. I’m scared I’m not going to come home.”
Before her death, Saferia, a mother of two young boys, filed a petition for compassionate release. Her request was denied. More than a month later, she was examined via satellite by health staff for shortness of breath. miamiherald.com/news/special-r…
On July 19, Saferia tested positive for #COVID19 and was taken to the hospital. Saferia's health continued to deteriorate, and she was eventually placed on a ventilator.
On August 3, Saferia, who had pre-existing medical conditions, died from #coronavirus.
Saferia's mother, Tressa, says she learned about her daughter’s death in the news. “They’ve told me nothing,” she said. “This has been horrible.”
The day before her daughter’s passing, Tressa went to visit her at the hospital after receiving a call that she should come immediately. “I told her to fight as hard as she could,” Tressa said. “She couldn’t talk, but tears were coming from her eyes. She knew I was there.”
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