A plea from U.S. incarcerees: Stop killing us
www.workers.org
Robert Divine, age 52, died Feb. 14, 2023; Steven Smith, age 38, died April 15, 2021; Courtney Salmon, age 31, died May 25, 2021; Quincy Di-Harris, age 25, died Aug. 27, 2021; Kenneth Harris, age 69, died June 7, 2023; Bass Wykeem, age 33, died Aug. 26, 2022 – they are just six of 46 people known to

A PrisonLegalNews.org article in August 2022 reported: “Philadelphia’s jails appear to be failing on nearly every level, from staffing and security to medical and mental health care, occupational opportunities, library and recreation time, and even the provision of the most basic human needs such as food and sanitation.

“The crisis that unfolded with the onset of the [COVID-19] pandemic in the spring of 2020 has sparked ongoing protests by the families of those incarcerated, as well as public defenders, community members, and prisoners’ rights advocates. It has also caused a series of uprisings by prisoners themselves.

“Civil rights litigation over dangerous and unhygienic conditions has resulted in the city paying out over $250,000 in partial settlements, with the money going to bail funds working to free as many people as possible from confinement in Philly jails. Litigation and criminal investigations are ongoing in the cases of prisoners murdered in a spike of deadly violence, and a federal court has appointed a special officer to oversee the city’s heel-dragging efforts at reforms meant to address the issues.”