1/ “I do not want to die here,” Ren Cheeks, who is incarcerated, wrote in a letter.
We have collected a series of letters from incarcerated individuals who are fearful as authorities watch the coronavirus spread in jail facilities.
See them for yourself...
We have collected a series of letters from incarcerated individuals who are fearful as authorities watch the coronavirus spread in jail facilities.
See them for yourself...
2/ Matthew Cole writes that he was diagnosed with asthma and scar tissue on his lungs as a child, and that he has an inhaler and takes Singulair, a breathing medication.
“I don’t know if my lungs could make it through COVID-19,” he wrote.
“I don’t know if my lungs could make it through COVID-19,” he wrote.
3/ The letters come from Houston’s jail, a 7,500 inmate-facility with a fast-moving COVID-19 outbreak.
They shed light on a window in time during which the coronavirus gained its foothold inside. Some detainees agreed to use their names, others are identified by an initial.
They shed light on a window in time during which the coronavirus gained its foothold inside. Some detainees agreed to use their names, others are identified by an initial.
4/ Rich said he felt that being locked up without a fighting chance is wrong. “Most of us don’t have life sentences to have a death sentence because of lack of medical supplies, basically it’s like sitting on death row,” he wrote.
5/ C expressed concern for his congestive heart failure and said the jail never handed out “antibacterial soap, hand sanitizer nor wipes, or disinfecting.”
“How are we supposed to know who is sick and where to avoid?” he wrote.
“How are we supposed to know who is sick and where to avoid?” he wrote.
6/ Greggory "Shane" Nevellis said the bunk beds the inmates sleep in are only 2 1/2 feet apart on both sides. “No ‘social distancing’ here!” he wrote.
7/ The first letter we received was from an inmate named Cleo, who said “they still are not providing us with sufficient soap to wash hands.”
Three days later, on March 29, the first Harris County detainee tested positive for the coronavirus.
Three days later, on March 29, the first Harris County detainee tested positive for the coronavirus.
8/ There are now nearly 600 inmates and jail staff infected with the virus, according to the jail.
“If we don’t do more testing, we’ll have deaths sooner or later,” said Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, who operates the jail.
“If we don’t do more testing, we’ll have deaths sooner or later,” said Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, who operates the jail.
9/ He says the jail is doing more to clean surfaces, provide inmates with soap & disinfectant, and has upped screenings, but has been open about the near impossibility of social distancing in jail.
Gonzalez has also advocated for releasing vulnerable and nonviolent inmates.
Gonzalez has also advocated for releasing vulnerable and nonviolent inmates.
10/ For more letter excerpts and stories, read the full article here: propublica.org/article/i-do-n…
11/ And to get more stories like this one as soon as they drop, sign up for our Big Story newsletter here: go.propublica.org/bigstory-social
