We Must Drastically Reduce the Number of Incarcerated in Erie County Jails

We, the undersigned, urge the Erie County District Attorney’s Office, the Eighth Judicial Circuit, the Erie County Sheriff’s Department, the Chief Executive Officer of the Courts, the Erie County Probation Department, Mayor of Buffalo Byron Brown, Commissioner Byron Lockwood of the Buffalo Police Department, and the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervisions (DOCCS) to immediately release all people who are currently incarcerated in the Erie County Jails pre-trial and/or in custody on bail, and/or who have served thirty (30) days on their local sentence, and/ or who could be released in custody and/or who are in custody following a technical violation of parole, as well as high- risk, vulnerable populations who may be on parole holds, AND to stop making minor arrests due to loitering; disorderly conduct; trespass; low-level marijuana possession; traffic stops, sex work; individuals using substances and enduring crises of mental health, in order to decrease the current Erie County Jail population and reduce the possibility of COVID- 19 contraction.

Mass incarceration is, without a doubt, a public health issue, and at this time, where the globe is facing a pandemic, it is a public health crisis. As of last week, there were over 607 people caged in Erie County’s jails, of which the majority are awaiting trial and are thus presumed innocent. Medical experts state that it is not a question of ‘if’, but when COVID-19 will enter the US jails and prison system. When it enters, the virus is likely to infect everyone inside, including jail employees. Experts all over the country are calling for the immediate release of high risk, vulnerable, elderly, aging, and low-level, non-violent inmates from the country’s jails. David Patton, executive director of the Federal Defenders of New York, called jails “ticking time bombs,” and said “they’re overcrowded and unsanitary in the best of times. They don’t provide appropriate medical care in the best of times, and these certainly are not the best of times.”

Incarcerated people are at increased risk of exposure and death during this global pandemic. The unsanitary and dangerous living conditions in our jails make them a petri dish for viral infection, and neither the jails nor the county’s hospitals have the capacity to handle such a large outbreak. As of last week, the public has been notified of at least three inmates who are under isolated supervision for COVID- 19 symptoms in Erie County Jails, and we know the exponential rise in cases once folks come in contact with a symptomatic individual, which is why the time is now to release individuals from the Erie County Holding Center (ECHC) and the Erie County Correctional Facility (ECCF) in Alden New York. To that point, as of this week there are now twelve (12) inmates under supervision and a deputy who has tested positive for COVID-19.

In Western New York we know too well the deadly conditions that exist in our jails- one person dies at least every six (6) months- and the deadly circumstances due to the lack of capacity at our county’s hospitals- particularly the Erie County Medical Center’s (ECMC). India Cummings, one of thirty (30) deaths in the Erie County Jails since 2005, was killed by the Erie County Sheriff’s Department in 2016 after her injuries were neglected and all of the two available beds at ECMC were occupied and India had to be sent back to the Holding Center to receive medical care. This summer alone there were four deaths in four months, including Connell Burrell who was fed a peanut butter sandwich following a dramatic spike, and then drop, in his blood sugar levels after receiving jail- provided insulin.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends physical distancing of at least six feet, which is impossible for people who lack freedom of movement due to their incarceration. People routinely share jail cells in cramped quarters, often sleeping head to foot. The Erie County Sheriff’s Department does not give individuals enough food, and expect people to go as much as twelve to thirteen hours between dinner and breakfast- as a result people often share commissary items to fill their stomachs, increasing their chances of exposure. Medical care is sparse and inadequate, heightening the chance of viral outbreaks and an inadequate subsequent medical response. Additionally, basic hygiene products, like soap, are a commodity for sale in the jails rather than something that is being provided to keep individuals safe.

This harm is multiplied by the fact that the criminal legal system in Erie County preys on people who are already among the most vulnerable members of our community. It is well-documented that criminalization dramatically and disproportionately impacts Black and Brown people, immigrants, survivors of assault, people with substance use and mental health disorders, and those who are houseless, poor and low-income of all ages, including the elderly. In a system that is already failing to apply the law fairly and equally, arresting and incarcerating people while adding the risk of viral infection and inadequate care is unconscionable and inhumane. This practice puts thousands of people at risk of infection, including jail workers, legal workers, and incarcerated people.

Conditions have already worsened for people in jail. On March 12th, the Erie County Holding Center stopped allowing visitations, forcing the friends, family and loved ones of those incarcerated to rely on the highly-priced digital communication systems the jail system recently implemented. Studies show that such restrictions have adverse effects on the mental health and well-being of those incarcerated, often times leading to depressive symptoms and interrupting the maintenance of the ‘family system’, which is vital for survival once released. On March 16th, the Eighth Judicial Circuit limited all court proceedings outside of arraignments, suspending speedy trial timelines, bail hearings and jury trials. This procedure specifically impacts people in our jails who are pre-trial; waiting to be seen in front of a judge for bail and/or are awaiting charges to be set, and/or are approaching parole hearings, procedures which effectively may be their only hope of release. Other common responses during this time have included lockdowns and placing people in solitary confinement, yet, we know that isolation only further endangers people.

We have a moral calling to our community, which includes people currently in cages, in the midst of this pandemic. Continued incarceration will be a death sentence. We must stand with the most vulnerable and take the following steps:

Release all people in jail who are at high risk and/ or vulnerable to contracting COVID-19, which includes anyone 50 years old and older, those who are pregnant, and those with existing health conditions, and/or compromised immune systems, like: diabetes; respiratory conditions, like asthma; hepatitis-c; cancer; those living with HIV and other immuno-compromising diseases.

Release all people in jail who are incarcerated pretrial on bondable offenses. The majority of people in Erie County jails are currently awaiting trial and have not been sentenced, are legally presumed innocent, and are in cages simply because they cannot afford bail. It is a moral imperative that we expedite that process and release every single person held pretrial on a bondable offense immediately.

Release all people in jail who have “local” sentences, meaning sentenced to a year or less, and have already served 30 days. Individuals who have already served 30 days of their one year or less sentenced should be expedited for conditional release in order to be released from custody under parole supervision.

Release all people in jail who are only incarcerated after being arrested for technical parole violations, like missing curfew.

Issue a moratorium on new bookings and carceral sentences. People who are arrested for violations of municipal ordinances and misdemeanors should be issued Notices to Appear or bench tickets, by police officers in lieu of arrest to limit their exposure to the jail system. People who are arrested for bondable felony offenses should be released on their own recognizance or to the custody of parole supervision by judges at bond hearings and on motions to modify bail. Prosecutors should ask for probation rather than incarceration for anyone sentenced during the emergency period, which is expected to last way into July.

· Loosen restrictions on GPS and House Arrest. Every person needs unfettered access to medical care and the ability to leave their homes to care for their families and community members in need. All people on monitored release must be moved to “roaming” status. Alternatively, violations of house arrest should be forgiven.

People who remain incarcerated must be treated with the dignity they deserve. They must be able to speak freely to their loved ones. This necessitates free telephone calls, which people currently have to ration because of their cost, and removing restrictions on the number of minutes allowed per phone call. Corporations should not be profiting off of isolation during this pandemic. Allow people who have been barred from making telephone calls and receiving commissary to regain access to those lifelines and discontinuing the removal or restriction of these necessities as a form of punishment. Additionally, Erie County Jails has an obligation to provide basic hygiene products- like soap and masks- that can help to reduce the risk of COVID-19 to those incarcerated, free of cost to them and their families during this time of global crisis.

Create and expand emergency housing for those returning to the community after incarceration and connect them to healthcare providers as needed. It costs taxpayers sixty thousand dollars a year to keep one person in the Erie County Jail System. Those resources, and the resources it costs to harass, criminalize and incarcerate people, could be used for much more urgent and needed services in this time of global pandemic. Given the CDC’s recommendations regarding physical distancing, it is a moral imperative for our County to de-carcerate and use that money to provide emergency housing to people being released from jail who need it.

Erie County has a public health and moral mandate to reduce our jail population. Doing so will protect the lives of thousands of people who are imprisoned in the county, while safeguarding the health of all of us who call Erie County home.

Sincerely,

Black Love Resists in the Rust

Justice for Migrant Families WNY

VOICE Buffalo

WNY Peace Center

Showing Up For Racial Justice (SURJ) Buffalo Chapter

Queen City Worker Center

Partnership for the Public Good (PPG) Buffalo

People United for Sustainable Housing (PUSH) Buffalo

Queers for Racial Justice

Buffalo Mutual Aid Network Organizing Team

Buffalo Police Advisory Board

We Are Women Warriors

Orchard Community Trust

WNY Working Families Party