THREAD: As COVID surges again, I’m sharing here some firsthand accounts—audio, video, letters, art—of those who are & have been caged during pandemic. And their loved ones. Desperation. Denied medical care. Fear. Death. We could have done so different. We still can. Listen:
Charles Hobbs was suffocating in a cell of men infected w/ COVID in a Miami jail. Those men tried saving his life. Guards ignored them. He died. Those men spoke out. “I went to sleep w/ tears in my eyes. Grabbing my bible.” These are their voices:
LISTEN: 2 men caged pretrial on affordable bail in Harris County, TX. No food. Denied meds. Freezing. Over 7000 caged during a pandemic. Treated like animals. "Theyre not worried about us. Theyre not worried about nothing going on with us." More:
132 times. Thats how many times Cassandra called Chicago jail to try to save her husband. No masks. Soap. Crowded. Others coughing on food. He got sick. She was ignored. He died. “Morning never came for my husband.” More: 132Calls.com
Jodi Hill: "No books. No T.V. No music. No way to contact the outside." Jodi is a transgender woman forced to try to survive in a male facility in Michigan. She had to wait to get out of solitary confinement to find a way to create.
Just some of her extraordinary art.
“I have a 5 y/o little girl & a 4 y/o little boy. I've lost the rights to them since in jail." Kdee suffers mental health issues & seizures. Caged a year pretrial in Texas. Denied medication. Hogtied. Attempted suicide.
PG County, MD. “They had me put my sheets in a red bag labeled “hazardous.” Then they made me pull my dirty sheets back out of the red bag, even though there was other contaminated stuff in there. Those are the sheets I’m still sleeping in now.”
“To me ya'll the same in this jailhouse." What a guard told Willie while assaulting him. Caged pretrial in Texas for *over 3 years.* Tortured. Denied medication. Beaten. "My mom told me I have rights. But I'm behind this door."
A young pregnant woman was caged for months pretrial in Texas. Thrown in solitary. No calls. Deprived food. Had to order cough drops to numb her hunger. She lost the baby.
Rutikanga Akesi: “I know it’s too late now, but I want those people to know we’re humans too & we deserve to be treated as such. To subject us to extreme social isolation & sensory deprivation -- it’s endless torture, psychological & physical."
Dino Caroselli. 64. Caged in NY's Sing Sing prison. No masks. Social distancing impossible. Haunted by the death of a friend in the Spring. “I felt like the walls of my cell closing in on me, like a trash compactor.” His words:
Taylor was caged for nearly a year in Denton County, TX. Couldn't afford to pay restitution for a minor theft case. Told her probation. They arrested her. "Roaches on the trays. On our meal cart. Inhumane." Texas about to pass a law allowing more of this.
I could keep going. This past 2 years plus, at a time when you’d maybe expect police, prosecutors, judges, & jailers to be most sympathetic, they’ve doubled down on cruelty. We’ve heard directly from those who are part of our mass human caging system. Around the country. Cruelty.
This last year, my org worked with public defenders, community organizations & organizers, & people & families directly impacted to share their experiences in a way that was most accessible to the most people. Some projects if you’re interested in learning more:
A growing, digital archive of first hands accounts from people caged Texas jails & their families is now live. Phone calls. Letters. Grievances. Photos.
Listen. Without judgment. Without distraction: SheddingLight.in
Over 60 advocates, activists, poets, & directly impacted people read sworn declarations from people jailed in PG County, who-bc of jail limits-could not be heard. Millions heard their voices. GaspingForJustice.org
100 people caged in Michigan solitary confinement wrote letters to share their experiences. Allies in Michigan collected them. Artists interpreted them. Coders organized & filtered them. The result: This interactive digital archive of first-hand accounts. silenced.in
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