THREAD: Today's story is about a man who was jailed in Houston because he couldn't pay $100 cash. What happened next is horrifying: the system lost him. What he endured is important, and people should know about it. (1)
The man was arrested for allegedly writing two bad checks. When the court held his bail hearing the next day, jail guards couldn't find him. So the prosecutor and judge just did his bail hearing without him! The judge said he could be released, but only if he paid $100. (2)
Then he was forgotten. A week passed, then 4, then 8. About 2.5 months later, he sent a desperate handwritten note to the judge. He begged to finally come to court b/c COVID was killing people in the jail: "So my hope is to be seen one less person out the way. God Bless." (3)
105 days later, he was brought to court. Records show his lawyer hadn't called, visited, or done any work. He had to choose: plead guilty and get out or fight his case and go back to jail b/c he couldn't pay $100. He pleaded guilty. That plea was the only work his lawyer did. (4)
Even though the law provides a lawyer for people who are poor, that system is a disaster in TX, which relies mostly on private lawyers chosen by judges to whom they can make campaign donations. (5) texastribune.org/2019/08/19/unc…
The judge jailed him for $100 even though he was presumed innocent because an emergency pandemic rule by the TX Governor barred his release without paying cash b/c of an old misdemeanor. The TX legislature is trying to make this rule blocking release of the poor permanent. (6)
Keeping a human being in a jail cell solely because they cannot make a cash payment is unconstitutional. It's also expensive, and it separates families, destroys jobs, interrupts medical care, and leads to more arrests in the future. All people of good will must fight it. (7)
We are proud @CivRightsCorps to sue judges, prosecutors, and sheriffs, across the U.S. to end these illegal practices. We are inspired by the launch of a first-of-its kind archive of jail calls and letters so you can see and hear from people inside. (8)
Thread: Today's story is heartbreaking, but it's important. Police arrested a woman who was homeless because a cop said she hit him with an umbrella. What happened next is the everyday violence of our court system. (1)
Based on the cop's allegations, the court in Houston had a bail hearing after the arrest. But the judge, DA, and Sheriff didn't bother bringing the woman to her own bail hearing. In her absence, the judge required a cash bond for her release, even though she had no money. (2)
Then she sat in jail. One month, two months, three months, five months her case was continued. Then her case was forgotten for nine more months while she languished in jail. Then, 455 days after the cop arrested her, she was brought to court to decide whether to plead guilty. (3)
THREAD: This is the story of a man arrested for trying to steal a loaf of bread, meat, cheese, and deodorant from a grocery store in Texas, and what it says about our society. He was kept in a jail cell because he couldn't pay $10 cash bail. (1)
When the man was arrested, he told the police that he was "hungry." It is difficult to imagine a more cruel act than to tell someone with no money that they are free to be released from a virus-ridden cage so long as they pay $10. (2)
The reason the prosecutor, police, and court kept him in jail for $10 even though he is presumed innocent is a new emergency rule by the Texas Governor bars release of certain people unless they pay some amount of cash. (3)
THREAD: There is so much dangerous nonsense in Biden administration's budget request for federal prosecutors and cops. And the media coverage is just state violence propaganda. Wow. Here are a few important points: (1) nytimes.com/live/2021/05/0…
First, feds are requesting $1.2 billion *more cash* for local police, a 33% increase after federal felonies by cops against protesters across the country on video. This money will be used to brutalize poor people, Black people, and immigrants, and the feds know it. (2)
This is incredible: the NYT ignores the entire history of federal "community policing" spending as a counterinsurgency tactic and tells readers that these brutal violent initiatives are "programs that address systemic inequities in policing." Shameful. (3)
It is with a heavy heart that we watch what is happening in Texas. Legislators have been hoodwinked into a "bail reform" bill that is illegal and expensive, that will separate tens of thousands of families, and that will mean more deaths on cold jail floors. (1)
A few months ago, we all learned of the gruesome death of Preston Chaney, one of so many human beings who have continued to die because of Texas's cash bail rules since Sandra Bland. (2)
THREAD: Preston Chaney died in the Houston jail. He was trapped there for 3.5 months b/c he couldn't pay $100 after being accused of stealing lawn equipment and frozen meat. This week Texas may pass a bill that would kill many more poor people. It's vital that you help. (1)
Preston Chaney was 64 years old, and he had diabetes, heart disease, and liver disease. He was forgotten inside the jail because he was poor. Records show he was never even taken to the court in charge of his case before he contracted COVID and died struggling for oxygen. (2)
Sandra Bland died in a Texas jail cell when she was 28 years old because she couldn't pay cash bail. In Houston alone, about *10 people died every year* before @CivRightsCorps@tfdp@ACLUTx@ACLU@TXCivilRights sued on behalf of people who are too poor to pay cash bail. (3)
THREAD: Local news reports that Biden is nominating a former judge, Keva Landrum-Johnson, to be U.S. Attorney in New Orleans. A few years ago, we uncovered that Judge Landrum-Johnson was running a modern day debtors' prison. The story is shocking. (1)
Judge Landrum-Johnson and other judges were illegally jailing very poor people in New Orleans if they couldn't pay debts. They even created a "Collections Department" inside the court to illegally collect debts! When our clients couldn't pay, they were caged. It gets worse. (2)
Judge Landrum-Johnson and other judges took a cut of the profits to run their courts, creating an unconstitutional financial conflict of interest that destroyed whatever "neutrality" they were supposed to have as judges. It gets worse. (3)