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Good morning. Meet Anthony Swain. 43. Paraplegic. Caged pretrial for 4 years. Now has COVID. At 1:00pm today, his attorneys meet w/ prosecutors to potentially lower his unaffordable bail. Delivering this petition. Anthony deserves a million signatures: http://bit.ly/FreeAnthonySwain
Despite his condition, Anthony's been championing the fight for dignity & life for all jailed in Miami. Despite retaliation, he courageously became lead plaintiff in the lawsuit against the jail. Hasn't been 'blowing the whistle.' He's been *screaming.* https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/anthony-swain-miami-inmate-in-lawsuit-positive-for-covid-19-11638347
His sworn declaration: "My name is Anthony. I have cystic myelomalacia. I am parapalegic. I am trying my best to take care of myself in the midst of this pandemic, no different from you, no different from any other human being. It’s impossible to do at this jail. We are scared."
Anthony wouldn't be silenced. He knew how bad it would be when COVID entered Metro West Detention Facility. Contacted @Dreamdefenders & began fighting to secure the release of people from jail. When he started fighting, 0 confirmed infections. Follow here: https://nowhearus.org/survivingmiami
The lawsuit became Swain v. Miami: "The human beings confined do not have adequate soap. Have no safe way to dry their hands. Sleep w/n 1-2 feet of eachother. Wait days to get medical attention, & are denied basic hygienic supplies. Laundry detergent. Cleaning supplies. Tissues.”
Anthony helped organize others. Wrote a petition in protest of the conditions at the jail. "We, the inmates of Metro West Detention Center, hereby demand our release due to the inability of the Center to prevent the spread of infection among the inmate population."
Based on Anthony's voice, in early April a federal judge issued an emergency order to the jail to provide basic sanitation. Soap. Cleaning supplies. Still 0 infections. Jail did not comply. Didn't listen. It appealed. Fought fiercely for weeks against doing the bare minimum.
Yet still Anthony spoke up. Filed SECOND declaration: “The soap bottle has a dispenser you have to press. It's sitting on the officer's desk. Everyone in the cell uses it. Never been cleaned. Still don't have access to any kind of detergent to clean high-touch areas of our cell."
The jail ignored Anthony's warnings. Refused to do more. So what happened? Exactly what Anthony Swain warned. The infection entered the jail. While the jail spent its time fighting in court against providing soap, the infection spread. 0 infections jumped to 163. Then:
On the same morning the jail announced the rise in infections, 51 y/o Charles Hobbs died. Guards repeatedly ignored cellmates' cries for help. He was left suffocating. Guards said, "Not my problem." Until it was too late. His family found out days later. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/05/20/last-days-covid-19-prisoner/?arc404=true
Like Anthony Swain, witnesses to Charles Hobbs' death spoke up. Gave statements to court in support of simple pleas for soap. "When I observed he was having a seizure, I went to the door, let officers know. I was told to sit down." Hear witness statements: https://nowhearus.org/survivingmiami
A spike in infections. Now a death. What did Miami corrections do? Ignored Anthony. Fought even more fiercely against the court's requirement to provide soap & cleaning supplies. And then an appeals court ruled that *the jail* would be "irreparably injured" if forced to do so.
And then Anthony tested positive for COVID. Nightmare come true. Repeatedly asked for help. Ignored. “Ain’t nothing wrong with you.” Finally guards called an emergency when his pain became unbearable. From his hospital bed, he filed a THIRD declaration: "I am scared for my life."
Anthony & his family *begged* authorities not to return him to jail. "I am terrified of going back." If they weren't going to release him, at least let him stay at the hospital. "I am scared for my life due to all of my pre-existing medical conditions.” They sent him back. Worse:
After Anthony was sent back to jail, they placed him in “medical isolation.” Now on lockdown in a 6x9 ft cell. Has a bed, sink. No toilet. The first few nights, they didn’t give him a medical bed, so he got bed sores & was eaten up by ants. Picture from when he was kid:
ON MAY 18: Anthony was forced to sit in his own defecate for 7 hours, asking for help. When guards finally heard him, they told him he couldn’t shower because they were using the handicapped shower for storage. A photo from when he was younger. Hadn't been paralyzed yet:
ON MAY 19: An emergency hearing was granted. He & his parents were hopeful. Advocates shared his horror story. Miami lawyers claimed he was lying. Conditions were sufficient. Judge said she “hoped” Miami would look into the claims. But *denied his release.* His parents rallying:
If you're following me so far, I really encourage you to visit this site. A photo, video, audio essay & journey. Surviving Miami. Tells the ongoing horror story of Miami inaction, yet still possibility of hope through voices of those inside. https://nowhearus.org/survivingmiami
When Anthony first stepped up, spoke out, & worked with @Dreamdefenders & @CivRightsCorps to fight against potential carnage in jails if COVID entered, there were 0 infections. Miami fought back. 1 month later: 481 confirmed cases. 41% of those tested. 30% haven't been. Today:
Anthony’s continued incarceration could cost him his life. He's jailed pretrial. 4 years. On drug charges. Paraplegic. Other serious health conditions. Now COVID+. His bond set at an amount that no one but the very wealthiest could afford. Pay bail he can't afford. Unless:
Today, prosecutor & judge who sat on Anthony's case for years, let alone months as COVID ravaged the jail, have a chance to release him. Again. Here is the petition. Just since I started writing this thread, we've gone from 120 signatures to over 2000. http://bit.ly/FreeAnthonySwain
If the prosecution and the judge don't release him, we're back to trying to raise the $85,000 needed for his parents to bail him out. In the last few days we've raised close to $35,000. Here is more info: https://twitter.com/ScottHech/status/1262500144349687815?s=20
Yesterday, on the phone with his attorneys, Anthony was blown away by all the support: “On the phone with him right now. He can’t even believe it. It sounded like he was going to cry when he heard how much money was raised.”
Anthony Swain's family and his attorneys are beside themselves upset. Zero urgency. Terrified of death. Why is this man and so many others jailed despite the pandemic, while Manafort goes free because of the pandemic? Horrifying. https://www.newsweek.com/were-not-angry-paul-manafort-was-released-were-angry-millions-others-werent-opinion-1504766
One final point for now. Obviously, Anthony is only one person. There are approximately 3000 others in the 3 local jails in Miami. Suffering. Infected. Dying. But maybe, just maybe, the release one, will lead to the release of more. And more. And more. https://nowhearus.org/survivingmiami
UPDATE: 1700 signatures in 2 hours since starting this thread. Heard from Anthony's attorneys: "Shocked by the petition signatures. Think it’s going to shock the conscience of prosecutor." Sending everything at 12:30 so they can use it at conference. As many as possible by 1230!!
Made it to close to 2500 in time to get it to Anthony’s attorneys for this prosecutor meeting. 
Waiting for word with bated breath. Just got off phone with co-counsel who is also waiting to hear back. She said it's a good sign it is taking so long. Been 40 minutes. "Usually a 30 second denial."
AN UPDATE: The 2500 signatures from this morning were delivered. Prosecutor & judge heard arguments. They didn’t say “No.” But wanted to think about. Question: What on earth is there to think about? This is a no-brainer. Every additional minute this man remains caged is death.
