Last week, I got a call from a recently houseless man I'd been helping out. He had accidentally violated a protective order, and then got busy with work and forgot his court date. When he realized he'd failed to appear in court, he turned himself in, and was sent jail.

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The last time I spoke to him was Mon, at which point he'd been held at the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail for almost a week. He was hoping to get a bond hearing last Thur or Fri, but without my phone I haven't been able to keep in touch, so Idk if that happened.

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The conditions he described to me at the jail are appalling:

• You are only allowed to see a doctor on Wednesdays, unless it's an emergency (getting access to your meds, or having a swollen arm from a possible allergic reaction aren't considered emergencies).

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• The prison staff generally wear masks, except when they take them off to scream at people.

• There's currently no recreation, so they are in their cells 23+ hours a day.

• They barely get enough to eat, and have to pay a ridiculous price if they want more.

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There has already been a COVID outbreak at ACRJ and it will likely get much worse, based on what he described. Even if the virus is controlled, the conditions of the people imprisoned there are horrific and unacceptable.

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Please sign on to @defundcpd's pledge to end policing in Cville, and support their call to release all those being held in pre-trial detention.

http://bit.ly/cvillebeyondpolicing

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This thread has more details about the lack of COVID safety at ACRJ:

7/8 https://twitter.com/defundcpd/status/1299023352594681858?s=20

@'ing all the orgs that signed DefundCPD's press release about ACRJ:

@defundcpd
@CvilleDSA
@CongregateVille
@plumas_at_uva
@VAstudentpower
@BSAatUVA
@SURJ_Cville
@undocUVA
@FreeThemAllVA
@hatefreeacps

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