The Coronavirus Pandemic Shows America’s Prison System Is ‘Inhumane'
Black Lives Matter founder Patrisse Cullors has been fighting for criminal justice reform since she was a teenager. Growing up, she witnessed firsthand the devastating effects of the criminal justice system and police brutality. Her older brother, who has mental health issues, has been cycling in and out of jail most of his adult life.
This exposure has motivated the artist and activist to pursue a decades-long fight to support the communities most directly affected by over-incarceration in Los Angeles, she says. She founded the advocacy group Dignity and Power Now in 2012, and then Black Lives Matter in 2013.
Now, as the coronavirus pandemic rages, there is a renewed urgency to Cullors’ efforts.
Health experts say jails are a petri dish for the spread of the virus and could lead to mass deaths as people are physically unable to separate themselves from one another. Los Angeles County has the largest jail system in the country, housing nearly 17,000 inmates.
In March, Cullors sprung into action, helping set up the COVID-19 Rapid Response in conjunction with the coalitions Reform L.A. Jails and Justice-LA, as well as a diverse team of more than 40 local and statewide organizations. The initiative asks the public to sign petitions demanding that Los Angeles County officials relieve overcrowding in jails and limit arrests to help protect inmates, who’re essentially trapped together amid this deadly viral outbreak.
The move comes shortly after her criminal justice campaign notched a big win with the 2020 countywide ballot passage of Measure R, which brings in more powers to independently investigate corruption in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and includes a plan to improve mental health treatment in the county.
HuffPost spoke with Cullors about her campaigning and the effect the pandemic is having.
Paint a picture of what the conditions are like in L.A. County jails right now.
It’s terrible. Historically it’s been...
