COVID-19 and the prison abolition movement: A WW commentary
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The current spike in COVID-19 infections among the incarcerated in prisons, jails and detention centers is not only alarming and life-threatening to tens of thousands of people, it is an urgent challenge for the prison abolition and prisoners’ advocacy movement. We must build a movement from Califor

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights just released its latest report, “The Civil Rights Implications of Cash Bail,” revealing the true nature of the incarceration system in this country. Between the years 1970 and 2015, there was a 433% increase in the number of people who were incarcerated pretrial. The number of people languishing in prisons and jails who haven’t even been convicted of any crime is growing exponentially. (U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, Jan. 20)

In fact, pretrial detention is a guaranteed racist institution with Black and Latinx detainees receiving more severe conditions of release. And according to this report, more than 60% of the pretrial incarcerated population (in court they are called “defendants”) are there in places like Rikers Island or Santa Rita Jail because they can’t afford bail! In many states, these pretrial defendants are placed in state prisons while awaiting trial. In fact, more than 5 million people are sitting in jail or prison awaiting trial.

And what about our incarcerated siblings who have already been sentenced? In a racist, sexist, transphobic legal system, how can most of the incarcerated population ever get a fair trial? Organizations like RAPP, Release Aging People in Prison, have been working tirelessly to get elderly and immunocompromised prisoners released in New York State and around the country. “If the risk is low, let them go!” is their motto. And for most people inside, the risk is more than low — after decades inside it is time to release them all!