Contra Costa County Racial Justice Coalition

As you may be aware, there is a significant outbreak of COVID19 raging throughout all three of Contra Costa County's jails. The District Attorney has the power to significantly stem the tide of this outbreak and protect public health by following through on promises she made back in March, but which have not actually manifested in action by her office. This is an all hands on deck situation since there have been 51 confirmed COV19 cases among incarcerated people during the ...past two weeks (and an untold number of positive jail staff, who likely brought the virus into the facilities after the Thanksgiving holiday). We aer calling for a significantl reduction in the jail population immediately. Following are some of the guidelines in the letter you signed in March, we call on you to explicitly direct your office to immediately enact these policies to fight the outbreak: 1. Release all individuals who are being detained solely because they can’t afford cash bail, unless there is a documented showing that they pose a serious risk to public safety. 2. Reduce the jail population to eliminate sharing of cells. 3. Identify and release the following people immediately, unless doing so would pose a serious risk to the physical safety of the community: A. Individuals who are elderly; B. Populations that the CDC has classified as vulnerable (those with asthma, cancer, heart disease, lung disease, and diabetes); C. People in local jails who are within 6 months of completing their sentence; and D. People incarcerated due to technical violations of probation and parole. 4. Reevaluate lengthy sentences and support release for those individuals who can safely return to the community. Contra Costa coalition for compassionate release. Bay Area Legal Aid Contra Costa County Defenders Association Contra Costa Immigrant Rights Alliance Contra Costa Labor Council, AFL-CIO Central County Regional Working Group East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy East County Regional Working Group Ensuring Opportunity Family Economic Security Partnership Lift Up Contra Costa Monument Impact Multi-faith ACTION Coalition Racial Justice Coalition Richmond Progressive Alliance Rubicon Programs Safe Return Project SEIU 1021 The Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment - Contra Costa Chapter West County Regional Working Group https://fairandjustprosecution.org//Coronavirus-Release-FI

Join us for our vigil honoring human rights at the border now!

Tamisha Torres-Walker shared her condolences who has lost of a loved one to community violence and acknowledged there has been a challenge in communities sharing the loss of her brother to gun violence. Torres-Walker shared she believed that violence spills over into the schools and that the first priority should be making their streets safer and more secure. its unfortunate we are afraid of our young people, I’ve heard a lot of fear mongering, young people are dangerous we ...Continue reading

The Reuters analysis revealed a confluence of factors that can turn short jail stays into death sentences. Many jails are not subject to any enforceable standards for their operation or the healthcare they provide. They typically get little if any oversight. And bail requirements trap poorer inmates in pre-trial detention for long periods. Meanwhile, inmate populations have grown sicker, more damaged by mental illness and plagued by addictions. The 7,571 deaths identified by ...Reuters reflect those stresses. Most succumbed to illness, sometimes wanting for quality healthcare. More than 2,000 took their own lives amid mental breakdowns, including some 1,500 awaiting trial or indictment. A growing number more than 1 in 10 last year died from the acute effects of drugs and alcohol. Nearly 300 died after languishing behind bars, unconvicted, for a year or more. As with much of the U.S. criminal justice system, the toll behind bars falls disproportionately on Black Americans, such as Hill. White inmates accounted for roughly half the fatalities. African Americans accounted for at least 28%, more than twice their share of the U.S. population, a disparity on par with the high incarceration rate of Blacks. Reuters was not able to identify the race of 9% of inmates who died. Jail deaths typically draw attention locally but escape scrutiny from outside authorities, a gap in oversight that points to a national problem: America’s system for counting and monitoring jail deaths is broken.

From Raise the Roof Concord: Friends - Please take action, and spread the word! Call to Action ...Continue reading

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Virtual screening of 13th TODAY!

Last night, health workers, healers, and community members came together to honor the many human rights defenders & migrants who have risked and sacrificed for ...a better future for all of us. The gathering was in support of all human rights defenders including Dawn Wooten, a brave nurse who stood up for her patients and revealed that ICE was performing hysterectomies on detained migrants without their knowledge or consent. This act is just the latest of centuries of human rights violations and attempted genocide, including forced sterilizations, exploitation of and experimentation on people of color & migrants. See more