[Peace] Fwd: URGENT ACTION: Call-In to Protect Champaign County Public Health Through Decarceration

[kmedina67]

The Champaign county bailout coalition is informing us of the health risk people who are being held in our county jail are facing in this time of the COVID-19 crisis. Remember, the jail is where they hold people who are awaiting their trials -- they have not been tried, convicted or sentenced.
-------- Original message --------From: Champaign County Bail Out Coalition <champaign.county.bail.out at gmail.com> Date: 3/20/20  09:48  (GMT-06:00) To:  Subject: URGENT ACTION: Call-In to Protect Champaign County Public Health Through Decarceration Hello everyone,Public health experts have warned that jails will become an epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Champaign County Bailout Coalition is asking that the residents of Champaign County call our Sheriff, Presiding Judge, and State's Attorney in order to urge them to decarcerate the two jails in response to this immediate threat to public health and safety.Call now! More info and sample scripts below!WHY ARE WE DOING THIS?People incarcerated in jail are one of the populations most vulnerable to coronavirus and COVID-19, and their protection warrants special emergency action. Jails and prisons are known to quickly spread contagious diseases. Incarcerated people have an inherently limited ability to fight the spread of infectious disease since they are confined in close quarters and unable to avoid contact with people who may have been exposed. Responses such as lock downs, placing people in solitary confinement and limiting access to visits from loved ones are punitive and ineffective responses to outbreaks. Importantly, we know that isolation further endangers people and limiting visitation also has adverse effects.The only acceptable response to the threat of COVID-19 is decarceration. On any given day, around 180 people are incarcerated in Champaign County’s two jails. Almost all of those individuals (over 90 %) are still awaiting trial and are thus presumed innocent under the law. Additionally, there are around 44 people incarcerated 24/7 in their homes under the Sheriff’s electronic monitoring (EM). In general, on top of the personal financial costs associated with EM, individuals incarcerated in their homes face undue hardships in carrying out daily survival tasks like shopping and seeking medical treatment. Their situation worsens when they must request permission for movement out of their house from authorities who are already overextended due to COVID-19-related issues. The ongoing incarceration of all these people is an unacceptable risk to every incarcerated individual as well as public health.Sample ScriptsSheriff Dustin D. HeuermanVia Secretary, Teresa Schleinz: 217-384-1205“Hi, my name is ______ and I live in _________. I’m calling to demand that Sheriff Heurman take steps to dramatically lower the number of people in jail in response to COVID-19. In addition, the Sheriff should loosen movement restrictions for people on electronic monitoring and improve access to phones, video “visitation,” and make sanitation, hygiene and cleaning supplies available free of charge to anyone that remains incarcerated during the pandemic.” Office of the Presiding Judge, Thomas J. Difanis(217) 384-3704“Hi, my name is ______ and I live in _________. I’m calling to demand that Presiding Judge Difanis take steps to dramatically lower the number of people in jail in response to COVID-19. This means facilitating bond review hearings for people currently in jail and instructing judges not to admit new people to the jail. In addition, he should ensure everyone under home- confinement surveillance has permission to leave their homes to attend to their basic needs and those of their family during the pandemic.” Champaign County State’s Attorney, Julia RietzVia Main Office Phone: 217-384-3733“Hi, my name is ______ and I live in _________. I’m calling to demand that Champaign County State’s Attorney, Julia Rietz, take steps to dramatically lower the number of people in jail in response to COVID-19. She should instruct the prosecutors to use their discretionary authority to dismiss as many cases as possible, avoid imposing multiple charges for each indictment, and minimize the severity of recommended penalties. She should also instruct judges to give the least restrictive release conditions.” If they tell you they can’t help, you can emphasize that:“We are in a moment of crisis and need all county officials to do everything in their power to keep people safe. Incarcerated people are among the most vulnerable during this pandemic, we need you to do everything in your power to meet these demands, whether that’s your office taking unprecedented action or working with other county stakeholders.”On behalf of the Champaign County Bailout Coalition,PhillipChampaign County Bailout Coalition202 S Broadway Ave, Urbana, IL 61801(765) 231-5682https://champaigncountybailoutcoalition.wordpress.com
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.chambana.net/pipermail/peace/attachments/20200320/5ad269bc/attachment.htm>