Yesterday we put the Court on notice in Russell v. Harris County as 1000s of people are caged pretrial during this deadly pandemic solely for being poor. It’s time for #Houston area lawyers, judges, & the District Attorney’s office to address this injustice. (Thread)

Despite an abundance of evidence that #COVID19 spreads rapidly in jails & the surrounding community, #Houston has substantially increased the number of people detained pretrial. This has led to the deaths of 8 people not including the families of jail employees.

This letter from a father in jail shows that people are being separated from their families and exposed to #COVID19 for months without even seeing a judge. You can’t social distance in an overcrowded jail.

There is no reason people should be languishing for months in cages, especially when a federal court has urged action & the Sherriff & County have set up a system for video bail hearings. The judges, DA & private defense bar are choosing not to act.

The Harris County case records reveal a deep indifference to human suffering & illness. We filed this advisory to show Judge Rosenthal’s Court that legal actors in #Houston aren’t acting in good faith. (end)