February 08, 2021

Congresswoman Bush Sends Letter to St. Louis City Officials Calling for Full Transparency and Human Rights Protections Following Saturday’s Uprising at the City Justice Center

ST. LOUIS, MO – Today, Congresswoman Cori Bush (MO-01) sent a letter to Mayor Lyda Krewson, Public Safety Director Jimmie Edwards, and Corrections Commissioner Dale Glass with grave concerns regarding the most recent uprising at the St. Louis City Justice Center (CJC). In her letter, the Congresswoman calls on the City to take steps to increase transparency regarding the conditions at its jails, current COVID-19 protocols, and ensure the safety and rights of individuals being held in these facilities are protected. 

Text of Letter (PDF)

“Per comments made by city officials during a press briefing on Saturday, the uprising involving 117 people is the third such event at CJC since December,” the Congresswoman wrote. “It comes as tensions flare within the jail over health risks due to jail conditions and the rapid spread of COVID-19. Further, many of the people detained at the Justice Center are still awaiting court dates and have not been convicted of any crimes. This presents serious concerns around efforts to mitigate the risk of an outbreak as people cycle in and out of these facilities each day.”

According to  the Marshall Project, the COVID-19 pandemic is rapidly spreading in our nation’s prisons and jails, including those in Missouri. As of February 2, 2021, the Marshall Project identified more than 372,583 infections and 2,359 deaths among both people detained in and staff working in our federal, state, and local correctional facilities, including 5,369 cases and at least 42 deaths across Missouri’s corrections system. Nearly 1 in 5 of those incarcerated in Missouri are currently testing positive for COVID-19 in Missouri, an infection rate that is nearly three times higher than the general population. Further, Missouri ranks in the top 20 of states for COVID-19 infections in prisons and jails. The outbreaks in state and local corrections facilities have also led to infections among staff, with at least 2,522 cases and six deaths among Missouri’s corrections staff. 

In her letter, Congresswoman Bush stressed the importance of transparency and urged the City to make COVID-19 case data and all information regarding facility protocols available to the public and, most importantly, to the people who are currently being detained and their families. Specifically, the Congresswoman asked the City to provide the following information:

  1. Based on data available to the City, what were the COVID-19 testing, case rates, hospitalizations, and deaths among people detained at St. Louis City Justice Center and St. Louis Medium Security Institution as of Saturday, February 6th? What have those rates been since the start of the pandemic? Will you commit to publicly disclosing this data and updating it daily on the Division of Corrections website? 
  2. What public health information is being shared with incarcerated individuals, their families, and other visitors? How often are relevant updates being shared?
  3. What is the protocol for providing personal protective equipment (PPE) and face masks to people detained at St. Louis City Justice Center and St. Louis Medium Security Institution? How much PPE and how many face masks are currently available? Is the use of such PPE in line with recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention?
  4. What is the current breakdown of pretrial and post-conviction offenses within both the St. Louis City Justice Center and St. Louis Medium Security Institution? Among both pretrial and post-conviction offenses, what is the current breakdown of the type of charge within both the St. Louis City Justice Center and St. Louis Medium Security Institution? Further, what was the average length of time in pretrial detention prior to the pandemic? What is the average length of time in pretrial detention as of today? If there has been an increase, what factors have contributed to it?
  5. Based on funds appropriated by Congress in the CARES Act, the City of St. Louis received $1,392,940 through the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance. How specifically has the City utilized these funds to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in its jails? 
  6. What is the protocol for use of segregation or solitary confinement, including maximum and average lengths of stay in segregation at the St. Louis City Justice Center and St. Louis Medium Security Institution? What is the status of those individuals who have been held in segregation as a result of the uprisings on December 29, 2020, January 1, 2021, and February 6, 2021?
  7. What is the status of those individuals who have been transferred from St. Louis City Justice Center to the St. Louis Medium Security Institution following the uprising on January 1, 2021?
  8. As vaccines become available to incarcerated people in Missouri, what factors will guide vaccine distribution within the City’s jails, and what are the City’s plans for prioritizing the most vulnerable and achieving herd immunity among the local jail population?
  9. How has the City prioritized or facilitated the release of individuals, particularly those who are pregnant, medically vulnerable, or elderly and who are awaiting trial at St. Louis City Justice Center and St. Louis Medium Security Institution?
  10. What is the protocol for temperature settings within the facilities at St. Louis City Justice Center and St. Louis Medium Security Institution between the winter months of November-March, as well as during the summer months between June and September? Additionally, please provide daily logs of nighttime temperatures at St. Louis City Justice Center and St. Louis Medium Security Institution over the past two months.

“As a pastor and a nurse, I believe that we must lead with compassion,” the Congresswoman continued. “Every person in our society deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. Whether a person is incarcerated or not, unhoused or not, suffering through substance use or not, has a disability or not, we all deserve to have our fundamental rights and civil liberties protected. It is our obligation as public officials to ensure equal justice and protection under the law for every person in our St. Louis community.”

Given the urgency of this crisis, the Congresswoman requested a response to her inquiry no later than February 15, 2021. 

A PDF of the letter can be found here.

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