We won a court victory in the fight to protect people inside Michigan’s Oakland County Jail during the coronavirus pandemic!

Advancement Project National Office led a group of advocates and civil rights organizations in a federal lawsuit to protect the lives of people being held inside the jail. We argued that an outbreak in the jail will cause death and devastation to countless lives, overwhelm the capacity of the jail’s health services, and exacerbate the death toll and risks to all involved – both in the jail and outside in communities.

Within hours of filing the lawsuit, a federal judge granted us a temporary restraining order, requiring the jail to take measures to protect the health and safety of people inside the jail. Together, we won! This is a huge first step in our fight to secure the release of medically vulnerable people inside the jail. The court order requires the jail to provide cleaning supplies, personal hygiene products, access to medical care, soap, sanitizer, COVID-19 testing and more within 10 days. Now we are one step closer to protecting people in the jail and getting medically vulnerable people released.

[CLICK HERE TO READ THE TRO]

We filed similar cases in St. Louis and won our TRO in Miami last week as well. We are working to get as many people released before COVID-19 wreaks havoc in jails and prisons, and we have plans to file cases in East Baton Rouge and other cities as well. With our shifting demands and priorities, we need your support to help protect some of the most vulnerable people facing COVID-19 with no ability to protect themselves.

Together, we can do everything in our power to #FreeThemAll, and give people the safety they deserve! If you live in one of cities and surrounding areas we are litigating in, you can help put the pressure on to ensure people are #FreeAndSafe from COVID-19. Join us and Ben & Jerry’s to take action for our community members in Detroit, Miami, St. Louis, and East Baton Rouge. Beyond that, you can call on your state government to release people today. Share #FreeThemAll on your social platforms to spread the word!

Advancement Project National Office couldn't do this work without the support of followers like you; please help us continue our fight for social and racial equality!