“The risk of spreading infection is especially severe in light of the Spokane County Jail’s chronic overcrowding. This threatens everyone incarcerated in a jail, along with their loved ones, jail staff and the state’s public health infrastructure at large.”
“To help advocates, journalists, and policy makers see what positive action could look like, we are curating examples of actions taken to slow the spread of the disease in prisons, in jails, and among people on probation or parole.”
“The Bail Project stressed that more inmates should be released on their own recognizance so the county’s jail facilities don’t become hot spots for coronavirus transmission. Lockdowns would be ineffective because of rapid turnover in the jail population.”
“As the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread across Washington, we urge you to undertake all possible measures to prevent the spread of infection within the Spokane County Jail. An outbreak of COVID-19 in the jail would be swift and deadly, and now is the time for decisive preventative measures.”
“Our model is that when we bail somebody out, we’re connecting them to the resources that are available in their cities in order to help them stabilize and move forward. It’s those resources and community connections that actually are what is needed and not incarcerating people.”
“Just putting someone in jail and attaching a dollar amount to it is not guaranteeing that they will return to court,” Bail Disruptor Anthony Body says. “One thing I will say is that they’ll end up right back in the system if they can’t afford bail.”
There is a better way: treat people like individuals rather than statistical “risk scores” and focus on disrupting the cycles of poverty and vulnerability that keep so many trapped in the revolving door of mass incarceration.
“You’re talking about folks that have lost, or have the potential of losing their homes, their apartments, things of that nature, losing their jobs, their children—perhaps custody of their children,” TBP’s Kareem Henton said.
“Cash bail holds the overwhelming majority of people in jail regardless of guilt or innocence, and it is the oil that keeps the machine of assembly line justice running and churning out millions of people every year with criminal records that sink them deeper into poverty.”
A coalition of groups in St. Louis, including The Bail Project, have released a detailed plan of action for how to close the decrepit and abominable St. Louis city jail known as The Workhouse.