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Apr 9, 20
Filed under: Action, Announcement, Incarceration
Call from Gainesville IWOC for a phone-zap campaign to demand media supplies and release of prisoners.
The time for prevention has passed; the COVID-19 pandemic has reached Florida prisons and the depravity of letting prisoners lay in wait for certain death is unacceptable. With 37 confirmed cases of infected prison staff, COVID-19 has already entered the Florida prison system and it will continue to spread like wildfire unless immediate collective action is taken to release incarcerated people. The national projected death toll of prisoners is in excess of 100,000; of that over 7,500 prisoners are expected to die in Florida prisons and jails.
In the context of global pandemic, we should understand the prison system as a massive disease vector. We know infection rates inside New York prisons and jails are 10 times higher than the outside population, even with the prison official claims of proper sanitation. It will be no different here. There are no safety measures strong enough to keep a pandemic out of prisons.
Our friends and loved ones inside are depending on us to put pressure on prison officials. Please take a few minutes to call and demand the safety and freedom of our loved ones.
Who To Contact:
Thursday April 9th 9am – 5pm & Friday April 10th 9am-5pm
Governor Ron Desantis
Phone: (850) 488-7146
Email: [email protected]
Tweet: @GovRonDesantis
Secretary of FDOC Mark Inch
Phone: (850) 488-5021
Email: [email protected]
Tweet: @FL_Corrections
Florida Health Department‘s COVID-19 Hotline:
Phone: +1 (866) 779-6121
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @HealthyFla
very noisy demonstration downtown today. activists protesting a lack of action from elected officials in keeping jail and prison populations safe from covid-19 @fineprintmag pic.twitter.com/cBBVbSSGxQ
— julian de sevilla (@juliandesevilla) April 1, 2020
Suggested Phone Zap Script:
“You are responsible for 176,00 lives. With infection rates in prisons 10 times higher than outside, over 7,500 prisoners across the state are projected to die if they are not released. Every day infected staff are contaminating more and more people behind bars. It is literally impossible to social distance in a cell. Failure to act will result in the death of thousands. We demand that decision-makers at the state level take action on the following:
1. RELEASE PEOPLE immediately from state prisons, juvenile detention centers, and county jails, beginning with those most vulnerable to infection and those near their release dates.
2. PROVIDE proper santiation supplies, soap, and PPE TO EVERYONE inside prisons and jails while release plans are implemented.
If these actions are not taken, our friends and loved ones deaths will be on your hands.“
Tips for Making Calls:
- Be firm but polite, insist on speaking to the person you are calling for
- Leave a message if no one answers
- Refuse to give any information that you may be uncomfortable sharing with the state (e.g. full legal name, organizational affiliation, etc.)
- Send any new information gathered from calls to [email protected] or Tweet @iwoc_gnv
