As COVID-19 began to sweep through Louisiana, officials knew immediately that parish jails could be a vector for infection in surrounding communities, due to correctional staff moving freely between the jail and the community and the regular flow of people in and out of custody.
What makes COVID-19 so deadly for Black communities is not race – it’s racism, and hundreds of years of systemic discrimination in housing, health care, and employment.
As the COVID-19 outbreak continues to spread through Louisiana prisons, jails, and detention facilities, a new ACLU report shines a spotlight on the brutal and inhumane conditions in IC
Our communities do not have to choose between protecting public safety and combating the spread of COVID-19. By heeding the advice of public health experts and implementing proven community-oriented policing strategies, law enforcement agencies can keep our first responders and our communities safe.
Thank you to our partners at WDSU for giving the ACLU of Louisiana the opportunity to air a public service announcement highlighting the risks incarcerated people are facing from COVID-19 and the importance of keeping families together during this difficult time.
ACLU of Louisiana executive director Alanah Odoms Hebert was interviewed on Democracy Now! about the devastating racial disparities of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ACLU's work to release vulnerable populations from prisons and jails.