Thread by @ScottHech

READ THIS: Meet Cassandra. Her husband Nick died in a Chicago jail from COVID. She called for help 132 times. In this powerful essay, she *slams "so-called 'progressive' leaders praised for their pandemic response," but indifferent to those they cage. More:currentaffairs.org/2021/02/covid-…

"When the coronavirus seeped into the facility, Nick was sleeping in a dormitory with 50 others, including those w/ COVID. No ability to social distance. Denied even basic sanitary products, like sanitizer or a mask. Nick had to use his shirt to cover his nose and mouth."

"I started calling Tom Dart, the beloved Democratic sheriff. Who runs the jail—moldy; infested w/ mice, cockroaches, & COVID; filled w/ predominantly Black & brown people—that killed Nick. To make sure he knew about the cramped quarters. I wanted him to help. I never heard back."

"I called and called, but still there was no response. So I started going down to the jail itself, crying out for help to any of the corrections officers walking in or out. They ignored me too."

"As I kept begging for help, Nick’s health kept declining. From sore throat to a fever. Fever to chills. Next Nick lost his senses of taste and smell. Then all the strength in his muscles. Finally, his jailers finally took action. They moved him to a hospital away from the jail."

"Nick was admitted into the ICU. He was already in a severe stage of COVID-19 and had difficulty breathing. I spoke to him by phone and had never heard my upbeat husband sound so scared. On April 12, Nick died alone, handcuffed to a hospital bed."

"My soulmate’s death was not inevitable or a tragic oversight. His experience is emblematic of our nation’s shameful response to COVID-19 in jails and prisons that continues unabated today. Things will stay like this until we force them to be otherwise. "

"My husband was infected & killed by institutional indifference to the needs of people behind bars. But I fear that sustained public pressure needed to get our leaders to act is being stymied by the perception that only Republican leaders are failing. This is demonstrably false."

"Leaders in some of the most liberal cities and states in the country—so-called “progressives” who are broadly praised for their pandemic response largely because they’re not Republican—are not thinking progressively about protecting those who are behind bars."

"While we can celebrate the shift in power in DC, we must get real & look past the veneer of heroism now shielding our national & local Democratic leaders from criticism. Demand they act w/ the same urgency, decency & humanity they do to protect residents who happen to be free."

"It has been eight months since Nick’s death. Today, the conditions in the Cook County Jail, like those in many other jails and prisons throughout the country, remain just as horrific and inhumane as when Nick was dying near the beginning of the pandemic."

"Although community action & litigation initially forced Sheriff Dart to improve conditions inside the jail—over his strenuous objection—the number jailed at the facility where my husband died has silently crept back up to pre-pandemic levels. Now there are 5,500 people inside."

"To this day, the only time the sheriff’s office “communicated” w/ me was in an article where he brought up Nick’s criminal record seemingly as a way to justify his death. What he was charged with is not the point. He did not deserve to die." This is who they call "progressive."

"I’ve come to realize that as long as our leaders—progressive or conservative—have discretion to cage & hurt people they will. I’m convinced that the most important way to improve health & safety is to strip leaders of their unchecked power to throw people in prison or jail."

"Recently, Illinois took a historic step in the right direction at last. The state legislature passed the Pretrial Fairness Act. Ends cash bail & overhauls the pretrial justice system. Our leaders must not be allowed to pretend this is a silver bullet." injusticewatch.org/news/2021/illi…

"Our leaders must release as many people as possible, as soon as possible. For those not released, leaders should ensure social distancing, other COVID-19 precautions, & vaccine priority. We must act now before another family experiences a loss like I have."

"The night before Nick died we spoke over the phone. I shared memories w/ him & talked about the things we were going to do together. He could barely speak. Through gasps of air he told me “Please stay in the house, I don’t want you to catch this.” He died the following morning."

"I wish I could listen to Nick’s wishes to stay home. But I can’t. I want the leaders to know that although the people inside don’t seem to matter to them, they matter to me."

For more on Cassandra's story, visit 132calls.com. Local artists illustrated her voice: