Over 2,000 years ago Jesus was unjustly arrested and incarcerated pre-trial.
Today, in Cook County over 2,000 people - mostly Black and Brown people - are trapped in jail during a global pandemic, just because they cannot afford bail. Scripture tells us that whatever we do to our most vulnerable siblings, we do to Jesus. These people have not had their trail and therefor are innocent.
During this Covid-19 pandemic, Cook County jail – their records show the period of time from arrest to awaiting hearings and trials—is associated with 15.9% of all documented COVID-19 cases in Chicago and 15.7% of those in Illinois. Many of these people can not afford bail money. Some can argue that their 8th Amendment right was not violated, that is only half true. Their Bill of Rights’ 8th Amendment bail was not excessive, but their lives are in danger by cruel and unusual punishment airing COVID-19 all around them. All this as they can still innocent and have not yet been tried.
“Jail and prison are often used interchangeably as places of confinement. If you want to be specific jail can be used to describe a place for those awaiting trial or held for minor crimes, whereas prison describes a place for convicted criminals of serious crimes”
During this pandemic we must act. We are partnering with the Chicago Community Bond Fund to raise money to get at least one of our incarcerated siblings. Go to the Chicago Community Bond Fund here . Give what you can, and invite your friends. Even $5 or $10 can be the difference between living, or being imprisoned in a jail with confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the midst of a public health crisis.
The mission of the Gospel is about liberating captives and setting people free. Let us help the forgotten ones and break the bonds of injustice.