{First name/friend},
Senator Manchin and Governor Justice are ignoring injustices unfolding on their watch. We are rallying for answers.
Poverty should be neither a prison nor a death sentence, yet in the last year, 13 West Virginians have senselessly died in the understaffed and overcrowded Southern Regional Jail in Beckley, West Virginia. Over 100 souls have been lost in the last decade in jails across the state. And yet the people of West Virginia remain in the dark as the state’s investigations have failed to hold anyone accountable for these untimely deaths. The People demand that the State implement a plan to end these attacks on the poor and incarcerated.
Many of the people who died were jailed over small misdemeanors, or an inability to pay bail, and were ultimately forced into dangerous and inhumane conditions before their violent and untimely deaths. Join the mothers and families of those who have died in our jails, along with the West Virginia PPC and our partners, as we rally for answers and justice!
RSVP and stand for answers and justice at our Mass Rally
FRIDAY, MARCH 10TH, 2023 at 11:00am
The West Virginia State Capitol Building Steps
1900 Kanawha Blvd E, Charleston, WV 25305
We cannot allow Senator Manchin and Governor Justice to continue to neglect these families and the people of West Virginia for one second longer. These shameful and immoral acts to criminalize poor and marginalized communities must end. The Department of Justice must expedite and ensure a fully independent Federal civil rights investigation. We call on you to stand together with us on March 10th as we rally for justice at the West Virginia State Capitol Building.
We refuse to shrink back as another person is killed at the hands of state-sanctioned violence. We will make our thundering cries heard. We will fight for answers, justice, and above all accountability for the families of those lost in West Virginia’s jails. We cannot and will not let this horrific reality continue unchecked any longer. Join us this Friday as we rally for justice.
Forward together, not one step back,
The West Virginia Poor People's Campaign
PS: If you cannot attend our rally at the West Virginia Capitol this Friday, you can still make your voice heard online. Follow this link to add your name to the chorus demanding elected leaders stand with West Virginians in our demand for the Department of Justice to open a federal investigation to end the dangerous and inhumane conditions in West Virginia jails.
