On April 30, 2020 MCU will host Protecting Our People – Raising Our Voice, a virtual meeting acting on the impact COVID-19 has on our election, incarcerated youth and adults, and the census.
We, the families and friends of those incarcerated demand:
- Officers in the MDOC be screened for Covid-19 symptoms before each shift
- Protective equipment recommended by the CDC be issued to staff and citizens
- The Missouri Department of Health inspect all MDOC facilities for sanitation and safety protocol accountability
- Facilities with positive COVID-19 officers and citizens: full populations are tested
- Release all over the age of 50 and with underlying conditions to community care
- Release citizens eligible within 2 years for parole
- Release citizens denied parole from 2015-2017; they have completed the minimum sentences
- Physical visits are suspended, therefore provide virtual visitation capability for citizens
- Provide free phone calls as well as updated tablets that have been issued throughout department of corrections in most other states except Missouri
We are calling families and friends of those incarcerated in MO to:
Join to us to organize letters of release for each of our loved ones to the facilities where they are housed
Join us for weekly participatory defense meetings to work on actions to get our loved ones protected through release or changes to facility protocols.
We are calling for allies to contact state and local officials requesting the above demands:
Governor Parsons
The Missouri Department of Correction, Anne Precythe, Director; and Adam Albach, Legislative Liaison
Elected officials with prisons as part of their constituency
The parole board to continue hearing parole cases: Julie Kempker, Director and Steven Mueller, Board Operations Manager.
