Jail should not be a death sentence.

Since 2020, 18 people have died in the St. Louis City Justice Center. CJC is one of the nations most deadly jails and is 3x deadlier than the Kansas City Jail. Our city's jail population has increased 30% in the past two years. We will not tolerate the unflinching violence of the carceral state against people detained pre-trial. People are detained at CJC due to unmet needs. We will continue organizing to honor the lives lost, support the needs of the community, and advocate for an end pre-trial detention.

We demand the following:

1. The Board of Alders initiate immediate public hearings addressing jail deaths and lack of public transparency about the conditions at the St. Louis City Justice Center.

2. Mayor Tishara Jones releases an action plan including but not limited to:

2a) Immediate improvement to jail conditions such as 23:1 lockdowns, communication restrictions, macing, and lack of food and water

2b) Provide quality healthcare to people detained at CJC including those in holding

2c) Review of grievances from people detained at CJC as well as informing and assisting detainees with grievance process

2d) Increased transparency of CJC conditions to the public

2e) Grant Detention Facility Oversight Board unrestricted access to CJC to increase accountability of leadership

2f) Reduction in jail population through supported release

We will not stop until these demands are met.