So-Called Justice in Pandemic Times
AS THIS LETTER/UPDATE SHOWS, PROP’S WORK IS PERHAPS MORE CRITICAL THAN EVER. PLEASE CONSIDER DONATING IN SUPPORT OF OUR IMPORTANT WORK!
Dear Friends:
We hope that you & yours are doing well, or at least reasonably so, during these mad, bad times. Please be thoughtful & careful & stay safe & healthy.
We write to you with updates on how the practices of our so-called justice system is impacting the lives & well-being of both the people caught up in it — mainly, now as always, low-income communities of color — & of all NYers.
Rikers Island — City jails have the dubious distinction of being afflicted with the highest coronavirus infection rate in the world: 5.1% out of 1,000–10 times the infection rate of NYC & 12 times the rate of Lombardi, Italy — 2 of the most hard hit places on the planet. As of last Thursday, 231 incarcerated people & 169 staff had tested positive. Two staff people had died. Ross MacDonald, the chief medical officer for Correctional Health Services, has issued a warning: “A storm is coming”.
As a critical public health matter, NYC should release most persons locked up on Rikers: presumed innocent pre-trial detainees; sentenced people, most of whom will walk out in the near future anyway; & technical parole violators. Yet Mayor de Blasio has done little to address the crisis, having so far ordered the release of a relatively small number of people. Based on what’s known about this virus & on the consensus view that jails like Rikers are virtual incubators for its spread, unless the city moves to empty its cells, many NYers will needlessly feel the impact of the disease, & some will die.
Policing — The virus has also taken its toll on the NYPD — as of last Friday, 6,695 cops, nearly 20% of the force, had called in sick, & over 1,800 of department personnel had tested positive. 7 have died. Yet one article quoted Police Chief Dermot Shea saying the department was in “good shape”, a characterization bordering on the Orwellian. This terrible toll is at least partly due to the dumb fact that officers are, albeit on a scaled back level, still practicing aggressive policing, both old style broken windows tactics & in carrying out their new assignment to fine &/or arrest NYers not adhering social distancing.
So, while arrests are down, a good thing as far as it goes, due to directives from the mayor & the department, cops here continue to harass/target mainly poor black & brown NYers, & all too often for no good reason. Again, as a serious public health matter, the City should cease all arrests except in instances involving violence or predatory behavior. As a strategy for ensuring social distancing, instead of using cops, many of whom are likely to apply “might makes right” methods to problem solving, NYC should authorize local clergy & other community leaders to communicate & work with their neighbors to follow the guidelines needed to keep themselves & their fellow NYers safe & healthy. Such an approach would not only keep cops out of harm’s way, but would also represent a more benign & effective way to protect all NYers from the effects of this deadly virus.
In sum, as we can see, the city’s jailing & policing policies, or the lack thereof, are not serving to protect NYers from the virus, but are, in dramatic ways, adding to its dangers. As mentioned above, people will needlessly die. A serious & somber charge, but one that must be made & that is unmistakably true: Blood will be on the hands of the NY leaders who fail to act, to do the right thing.
Please feel free to contact us with questions &/or comments about the points made in this letter & the analysis & information presented.
As always, many thanks for your interest & support. And be careful & stay safe.
