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2 months ago, had a conversation w/ Claire, a fierce public defender in P.G. County, MD. About brutal conditions in the jail. She had collected dozens of sworn declarations so painful, the people cried when she read them back. "No one's listening." We started to brainstorm.
Public defenders were banging their heads against the wall trying to sound the alarm. But so-called "progressive" top prosecutor Aisha Braveboy ( @SABraveboy) was doing nothing. And local judges were so cold they started issuing boilerplate denial decisions to pleas for help:
Things were (& still are) dire in the jail. As COVID has spread, people are locked in their small cells, often with another person, for twenty-three hours per day and are let out for only one hour to clean their cells, shower, and speak to their attorneys and loved ones.
Social distancing is impossible. Cleaning supplies are watered-down & heavily rationed. People who report symptoms are met w/ derision, indifference, & delays. Nurses and guards routinely ignore even serious symptoms of difficulty breathing, chest pains, & bloody excrement.
In PG County jail, people must fill out a “sick call request” to get attention. Then wait 3 to 5 days for staff to respond, if they do at all. Those symptomatic or positive are locked in isolation cells coated in blood, mucus, feces, & urine. No showers, phones, clean clothing.
Claire knew about these conditions bc the people she represented were all telling her the same or similar things. And she was sharing their stories. Writing down their stories. Begging anyone to listen. No one would listen. No one cared. Then came the lawsuit. Finally some hope.
In partnership with Civil Rights Corps ( @CivRightsCorps), Claire's clients risked everything to sue the jail. Cruel & unusual punishment. Due process violations. Requested release or at the very least improved conditions. Obama-nominated federal judge--Paula Xinis--was presiding.
Despite acknowledging horrific conditions in the PG County Jail & a COVID-positive rate of 90%, Judge Xinis refused to order any releases even for over 100 particularly vulnerable people already approved for release. She ordered the jail to improve conditions. Then adjourned.
Judge Xinis adjourned while hundreds of people caged only bc they couldn't afford bail, faced horrors, infection, & death. Started reading the declarations. "How can you read one of these and not care? Not do anything?" Then it occurred to us-what if more people knew about them?
Only 1 person was reading these declarations. A federal judge, who wasn't swayed that caging people in feces, for 23 hours a day, symptomatic & asymptomatic people inches from each other, forced to pay $4 for a sick visit if they were lucky enough to be seen was cruel & unusual.
The lawsuit itself was powerfully written. But it was still a lawsuit. Black letters on white paper. Filed in court. Surrounded by the undeserved mystique of court processes. While people were protesting visible violence outside, invisible violence inside continued.
Claire didn't have cell phone footage of inside PG County Jail. The conditions faced by people she represented couldn't be seen. But she had this lawsuit. And these sworn declarations. What if we had people read them on camera? What if the words jumped off the page? Fiona Apple:
The People PG County public defenders represented risked retaliation. More than they already received when begging for medical attention. All to share their stories with Claire and other attorneys. All they wanted was to be heard. "I didn't come here to die." Jesse Williams:
PG County State's Attorney Aisha Braveboy ( @SABraveboy) uses this hashtag #bravejustice, claiming she fights for Black Lives. But wont advocate for release. "When people first started to get sick we didnt even get soap for free." Professor & Pulitzer Prize-Winner, James Foreman:
"In the med unit, we had 2 bathrooms to share between all of us. We had a water cooler but they didn't fill it. We tried to fill it up w/ water from the sink by taking a trashbag & running water down it into the cooler. We couldnt smell ourselves, but we felt dirty." Ciara Renee:
"My own cellmate was sweating, breaking out in hives, and spitting up blood. They ignored him. I see guys coughing on their hands. Touching the railings. The jail doesn't seem to take this pandemic seriously. They don't seem to care about us." Alec Baldwin:
Over 60 declarations like these. All submitted to federal judge Xinis. On June 22, she expressed her frustration with the submissions. Called them "unhelpful." Potentially "isolated" incidents. Only "marginally relevant." Complained it too hard to "cull the chaff from the wheat."
In partnership w/ Broadway Advocacy Coalition, we asked 60+ advocates, academics, activists, singers, journalists to read the words of people suffering inside PG County Jails. Translated the lawsuit into an accessible memorial. Labor of pain & love. This: http://GaspingForJustice.org
How can you help. There are multiple ways to get engaged. First spread the word. Second:
We need your help calling on top prosecutor ( @SABraveboy) actually to live up to her hashtag and do #bravejustice. Demand that she advocate for release! https://act.colorofchange.org/sign/braveboy-covid19-petition/
We need your help calling on top prosecutor ( @SABraveboy) actually to live up to her hashtag and do #bravejustice. Demand that she advocate for release! https://act.colorofchange.org/sign/braveboy-covid19-petition/
Local partners and organizers, Life After Release, has set up a bail fund. Please consider giving: https://www.gofundme.com/f/dmv-bailout
Whether or not you live in PG County, you can also sign up to volunteer to court watch to hold power accountable in bail hearings. Right now, all hearings are broadcast virtually. Sign up here: https://gaspingforjustice.org/hold-power-accountable.html
If you want to contribute your voice to the movement to raise up the voices of those inside, you can also volunteer to read one of the sworn declarations and share as well. Visit here: https://www.gaspingforjustice.org/add-your-voice.html
I think back to that first conversation w/ Claire. Glad we launched this project. Absolutely terrified that people still won't listen. That people will still remain locked up. That PG County will just let people die. Please help make this less likely: http://GaspingForJustice.org
Goodnight. Thanks for reading. Thanks for continuing to follow & share this project. And for putting up w/ me continuing to post & share about it. Bc this isn't about just making a pretty project & putting it out. This is about decarceration. Now. Now. Now. Now.
