Meet Cassandra Greer-Lee. Public school teacher. Fierce advocate. In March, her husband was caged in Chicago jail. Strong, but terrified of the COVID outbreak there. “Is anyone surviving this?” She called *132 times* to try to get help. Soap. Masks. Anything. No response. More: 
I spoke to Cassandra by phone about a month after her husband died alone. Weeks after she started calling for help. It was a particularly hard day for her. But she told me: “I need to put light on what happened to my husband, so it will not happen to another.” Fought back tears.
Cassandra told me her story. For an hour she spoke. Powerfully. And asked me to record it. I shared it with local artists, who interpreted her words. Watch & listen. This is just part 1 of 3. And here’s what she said:
“My name is Cassandra Greer and I am the wife of Nickolas Lee. I am employed by Chicago Public Schools. I teach first grade. I have been teaching for over 14 years. But, now, because my husband was murdered in the Cook County Jail, my passion has shifted.”
“The living conditions were deplorable. It was a dormitory unit where my husband and 50 other gentlemen shared a common space. So there was really nowhere for him to social distance or self-quarantine. So we had to do the best with what we could, the things that I was learning.”
“So he was taking the necessary precautions that he could with what he had. Because he had no sanitizing products, no anything to clean around the area, nothing. So, God, please try to cover.”
“At the beginning of March he noticed that there were two sick inmates on his tier.”
“Days went by, the gentlemen got sicker, they got sicker. One day, one of the gentlemen was so sick, he was calling out saying that he felt like he was about to pass out. I began to become more and more worried.”
“So now I'm calling more and more.
March 28th, they finally answered the phone. She informed me that due to this pandemic, they were short-staffed, there were no social workers that I can speak with. I asked for a sheriff. There were none available to speak with me.”
March 28th, they finally answered the phone. She informed me that due to this pandemic, they were short-staffed, there were no social workers that I can speak with. I asked for a sheriff. There were none available to speak with me.”
“I left my name and number in the hopes that someone would contact me so I can get my husband moved off that tier and get the other gentlemen help. That never happened.”
“March 29th that was the first symptom that he had. He had a sore throat. When he called me he said ‘Baby, my - I don't feel well.’ He said ‘My throat is hurting.’ He said ‘Oh my God.’ He's like, ‘Have you heard from anyone?’”
Less than two weeks later Nickolas was dead. It wasn’t just COVID that killed him. It was institutional indifference. Cassandra wanted to make sure she had done everything she could. “I pulled up my phone records and I started to count. I got to 132!”
At a time when COVID-19 is back on the rise & leaders at the highest levels of government are contracting COVID & receiving the speediest and fastest care, we must turn our attention to the most overlooked populations getting grossly inadequate care.
Hundreds of thousands of people in jails & prisons around the country have been infected by COVID-19 & thousands have died while leaders have either done nothing or too little to make any difference despite calls for help from family, advocates, and medical professionals.
Even now, leaders are still not paying attention. In Chicago, despite Nikolas’s death and others, there are now *over 1000 more people in jail* pretrial than when he died. This is not okay. More: 132Calls.com
After the death of her husband, Cassandra Greer-Lee became an activist leading the effort to call for divesting from jails and investing in communities and health. You can join her every Sunday in front of the jail rallying for justice. Details: 132Calls.Com
Want to help Cassandra but not in Chicago? You can push for passage of the Pre-Trial Fairness Act, which would significantly reduce the number of people and jail and prevent anyone from being jailed solely because of their inability to pay bond. Act: 132Calls.com
Cassandra teamed up with local artists, directors, & performers to create 132 Calls, an animated 3-part short film series that features Cassandra’s first hand account of her efforts to save her husband, the humanity of others inside, & her fight. Watch:
Proud to know you, Cassandra.
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