Rosa Jimenez, a mother with Stage 4 Kidney Disease, was already supposed to be released from prison after judges found compelling evidence of her innocence. But she is stuck in a cell in Texas, where her potential exposure to the coronavirus could prove fatal. She is not alone. Texas has been dragging its feet on taking important steps to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in its jails and prisons. The Austin Statesman, one of Texas’ largest newspapers, just published an op-ed piece that I wrote about why decarcerating prisons and jails right now is a critical step that must be taken to save lives. You can read the entire piece, “We can save lives by reducing prison populations now” here: https://www.statesman.com/opinion/20200413/opinion-we-can-save-lives-by-reducing-prison-populations-now.
The time for action is now. The lives of people like Rosa Jimenez depend on it.