Read on Twitter
THREAD: There are 9,000 people caged in the downtown Houston jail, most of them solely because they can't pay cash. The situation is getting dire: "We don't have any running water anymore." (1)
People are sleeping on floors, toilets are clogged and covered in plastic bags because of the smell. People report not being given drinking water. When asked about water, guards have said: "you shouldn't have f**ing gotten locked up." (2)
There are still over 50 children trapped inside the adult jail, many of them because their families can't get the $$$. (3) https://twitter.com/equalityAlec/status/1357390064582619136
Despite desperate pleas from the Sheriff, the DA and District Court judges have declined to hold individual hearings to even consider releasing people on the lowest cash bail. People are trapped there because our society lets prosecutors and judges do this. (4)
Please follow and support the work of @TxJailProject, which is a small local organization helping people on the inside and trying to get people out. (5)
You can donate to their jail support fund here: https://donorbox.org/texasjailproject
If you want to learn more, you can read about our constitutional civil rights case challenging the cash bail system in Houston @CivRightsCorps https://www.civilrightscorps.org/work/wealth-based-detention/harris-county-tx-bail
UPDATE: As this emergency unfolds in Texas jails with hunger, no water, sickness, cold, etc... for-profit companies are using the chance to profit by charging for clean water and food from their jail commissary businesses. When this ends, we must end this predatory industry.
UPDATE: we are hearing reports that a young man has died in the houston jail. Trying to learn more. Many more could follow if the DA and judges do not change course and let people out without requiring cash payments. The cash bail system is a catastrophic failure.
