People who:

are disabled.
struggle with substance use.
have mental health issues.
are impoverished.
are brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers.
are LBGTQ.
are loved and those who love.

People directly impacted by the system have long known well how unhealthy, brutal, irrational, and costly the system is.
So. Listen and Witness.
You too will
be scared and outraged.
understand how cruel our criminal legal system is.
be outraged that those in power continued with business-as-usual cruelty. Even during a pandemic.


Listen.

Listen. Without judgement.

Listen. Without judgement. Without distraction.

Listen

To the voices of those caged pretrial in Texas, desperate for any humanity. Terrified about their present and future. Listen to the voices of their loved ones.

Witness

Their words, handwritten in cold, in hunger, in medical neglect, in confinement.

If you listen and witness, you then can help shed light on the darkness hidden behind jail walls and legalese.

If you listen and witness, you then can help shed light on the darkness hidden behind jail walls and legalese.

People who

are disabled.

struggle with substance use.

have mental health issues.

are impoverished.

are brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers.

are LBGTQ.

are loved and those who love.

The vast majority of people in Texas jails are caged pretrial.

The vast majority of people in Texas jails are caged pretrial.

They have not been convicted, and are stuck in confinement purgatory because of their inability to pay bail or get in front of a judge because of continued court resets and quarantine periods.

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A LIFELINE

Advocates on the outside created a living record of how jails were failing our communities before and during teh pandemic.

The challenged and contradicted the false claims by the agencies that caged.

They left a paper trail.

They drafted and filed complaints.

They recorded phone calls.

Guided families through the process of asking for help.

They shared letters.


COVID & Cruelty

What You Will See & Hear

When COVID-19 hit Texas jails - every crisis, every cruelty, every inhumanity, was compounded and amplified.

Denial of Treatment
Poor Food Quality
Racial Disparities
Back-logged Court Dates
Death
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Denial of Basic Necessities
Overcrowding
Blocked Transparency
Segregation and Isolation