TWO IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM THE VIRGINIA DEFENDER

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Phil Wilayto

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Apr 10, 2020, 8:18:27 PM4/10/20

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APRIL 11: A RICHMOND ONLINE FORUM:

‘STOP THE WARS AT HOME & ABROAD!’

If there's one thing the coronavirus is teaching us, it's that all of us all over this world are connected - and we will stand or fall together. Join the newly formed Richmond Coalition for Peace, Justice, and Jobs at noon Saturday, April 11, for an online forum on the connections between the U.S. wars abroad and the struggles here at home. The coalition includes (so far) the Richmond chapters of DSA, IWW and Food Not Bombs and the Virginia Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality. Join us - and please share?

https://www.facebook.com/events/199009907859994/

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Protesters in more than 50 cars circle in front of Richmond’s city jail, demanding the release of inmates in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. Photo by The Virginia Defender. More photos at The Virginia Defender.

FROM THE VIRGINIA DEFENDER:

In face of coronavirus crisis …

PROTESTERS DEMAND RICHMOND RELEASE INMATES

By Phil Wilayto

RICHMOND, VA, April 10 -- In an impressive display of solidarity during the coronavirus pandemic, protesters in more than 50 cars circled in front of the Richmond city jail this afternoon, honking horns and displaying signs demanding that inmates be released to protect them from the COVID 19 virus that has already shown up in prisons across Virginia.

After gathering at a downtown parking lot - wearing face masks and practicing social distancing - the protesters formed a car caravan and headed for the city jail, which officially, if incorrectly, is known as the Richmond Justice Center. They drove north on 18th Street to just past the jail, made a U-turn and continued south on Oliver Hill Way to Coalter Street and then back north on 18th. After numerous loops, the cars converged in the jail’s parking lot for a mass honking of horns.

The protest, one of the first local public demonstrations to take place since the outbreak of the coronavirus crisis, was sponsored by the Legal Aid Justice Center, Richmond Community Bail Fund, Richmond Public Defender’s Office, the LGBTQ organization Southerners on New Ground and the Virginia Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality.

A media release stated that the purpose of the protest was “... to demonstrate our grave concern with our government officials’ failure to reduce the number of individuals housed in detention facilities in response to the global coronavirus pandemic.

“Prisons, jails, detention centers, and juvenile correctional facilities are dangerous settings that increase the spread of infectious diseases. Social distancing and other preventative measures are nearly impossible in densely populated carceral settings and pose a risk to all Virginians. Mass release must be a strategy to reduce the spread and harm of coronavirus.”

Of the approximately 750 inmates held in the Richmond jail, about 32 have reportedly been released in response to the virus threat. That’s barely 4 percent. The Norfolk jail has reportedly released 28 percent (250 out of 900), as has the Albemarle Charlottesville Regional Jail (122 out of 430).

The Richmond protest was held the day after another coalition, led by the ACLU of Virginia, held a well-covered press conference to demand the Virginia Department of Corrections release as many prisoners as possible in order to avoid what the coalition fears could be an impending disaster in the state system. With many prisons already overcrowded, there may not be enough space to isolate people who come down with the virus.

As of Friday, there were no reported cases of COVID 19 in the Richmond jail. The DOC today is reporting that 26 prisoners - 16 of them women - and 25 staff members have been infected in eight of the system’s 40 facilities.