For Immediate Release: March 23, 2020
Contact: Heather Cabral | heather@westendstrategy.org | 202-550-6880
To the Leadership of Dallas County and the City of Dallas:
As formerly incarcerated people ourselves, and those who are leading grassroots work with incarcerated and formerly incarcerated populations, we are reaching out to you on behalf of the thousands of people who are currently incarcerated or under community supervision within our county. While you may receive other recommendations on the growing concerns regarding COVID-19, we represent the community that will be directly affected by the successes or failures of health-related planning and implementation in our community’s jails.
Heightened concern over the COVID-19 pandemic has gripped our communities. As of March 23, Texas has seen a steady increase in the number of cases, even though testing is still widely unavailable. Each day, the number of people infected with the virus in Dallas County continues to rise with no evidence of relief coming soon. We have taken the necessary precautions to keep our neighbors and families safe. We have limited public gatherings, our schools have closed indefinitely, restaurants closed to dine-in patrons, businesses are operating remotely, and increasing numbers of people are isolating in order to discourage the spread of infection. However, insufficient preparation has been taken to limit the spread of COVID-19 through one of the largest and most vulnerable institutions in our community: the Dallas County Jail at the Lew Sterrett Justice Center.
