January 25, 2025 – Since 2020, ALC has been working with Philadelphia City Council members to create a jail oversight board that will make public the tragic truths about Philly’s jails that our staff and allies witness every day.
The board won’t end all of the injustices that happen in Philly’s carceral systems. But it will be independent of the Department of Prisons and — if the city implements it properly — will give complete jail access to independent investigators who will report their findings at public meetings.
This is especially timely now given the recent history of horrendous abuse and suffering at the four jails on State Road. While Philly’s jails have always been dangerous and dehumanizing, at least 63 people have died in these facilities since 2020, many from brazen medical neglect.
Some, like Amanda Cahill, were there due to the Parker administration’s strategy to mass-arrest their way out of a public health crisis. Some have been beaten while staff lingered nearby, or ignored as they cried out for help.
Those who do survive have to fight back rodents and insects, and are denied necessities like food, water, electricity, bedding, and sanitation. A federal monitor (assigned as a result of a major lawsuit on which ALC is co-counsel) recently reported that hundreds of people are still receiving no out-of-cell time in the jails; few, if any, people are able to see the outdoor yards; visiting hours are erratic; and nearly 700 people are languishing in solitary.
With over 40% of people entering the jail having pre-existing mental health issues, these atrocious conditions are causing even more damage, and creating new trauma and harm for everyone held there and for the communities that incarcerated people return to.
Now we’re busy planning these next steps in our effort to bring this jail oversight board to fruition:
1) Working to ensure the ballot measure passes in May: This winter and spring, we’ll be knocking doors in Philadelphia in areas most impacted by jails and prisons, to make sure voters approve the board in the May election. Equally importantly, we’ll also be letting folks impacted by jails know about the board’s ability to protect people inside, and to connect them with us.
2) Planning for the member selection process. We’ll be fighting to make certain that the people who join the board are committed to holding the Department of Prisons accountable and that the board truly operates independently.
We applaud the work of Councilors Thomas and O’Rourke, and former Councilor Gym, and their staff, who prioritized this issue.
And we look forward to the new jail oversight board exposing the basic truths of Philly’s jails and becoming a useful tool to help move the city away from mass incarceration and toward addressing the pressing root cause issues that impact our public safety.
– The Team at ALC
