Jail conditions in the U.S. are a national crisis – many jails are unsafe, overcrowded, and lack basic medical healthcare. Hundreds of people die while in jail every year. And the majority of people in American jails – on any given day, around 540,000 people – are being detained before trial. Here, we follow jail conditions across the country.
Our state regional coordinator in Michigan writes, "Certain moments define a society and its leaders. And this is one of them. Unless St. Louis city and county officials take action now, this pandemic will create a humanitarian disaster in our jails, putting lives at risk."...
This interactive tool tracks developments of the coronavirus response in local and state governments, with a focus on what is being done — and what’s not done — to protect vulnerable populations....
The pandemic could create a humanitarian crisis in jails if officials don’t act quickly. We're calling for a mass released of people detained pretrial in order to avoid an unprecedented health catastrophe....
