We call on Fort Worth and Tarrant County Legal System Officials to act immediately to protect the lives of all residents, including those impacted by jails, courts and prisons.

As people who are leading grassroots work with Black, Brown, undocumented, poor, incarcerated and formerly incarcerated populations, as well as family and loved ones who are directly affected, we are reaching out to you on behalf of the thousands of people who are currently, residents, incarcerated, or under community supervision within our county. We represent the community that will be directly affected by the decisions you are making.

We reached out to you at the beginning of this crisis and urged you to act with compassion to release, non-violent, incarcerated individuals who were in high risk categories, like the elderly, pregnant women, and those with underlying conditions. Not only as a means to preserve the lives of those individuals, but as a means to decrease the jail population and to allow for greater social distancing to slow the spread of disease. However, because of your failure to act swiftly, shortly after our initial letter was sent on March 24th, the number of positive cases of COVID-19 began to grow, exponentially, among the incarcerated and jail staff and contractors. And as of this weekend, one incarcerated person who was 67 years old, with underlying health conditions, has died of COVID-19.

We also know that a pregnant woman with mental health deficiencies, who had been jailed since February, gave birth unattended in the Tarrant County Jail on May 18th -- in direct violation of HB 1651 that went into effect on September 1st, 2019, and states that jail officials shall, "identify when a pregnant prisoner is in labor and provide appropriate care to the prisoner, including promptly transporting the prisoner to a local hospital..." The status of the child is not yet known. And we have unconfirmed reports that the incarcerated man who died by suicide in the Tarrant County jail on April 26th, did so while housed in a single cell unit that was already under a 20-minute around the clock watch -- when apparently, one of those 20-minute watches was missed. We are hearing that this happened due in part to over-taxed staff with too many additional duties or distractions. In addition to these unacceptable conditions at the jail, the Fort Worth Police Department continues to apprehend and arrest individuals on petty non-violent charges that could be handled with a citation or a warning. Just this past weekend, three members of one family were arrested for disturbing the peace and jailed for three days -- again, unnecessary and irresponsible during a pandemic or at any time.

We are calling on the Tarrant County Commissioners & Judge Glen Whitley, Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn, Tarrant County District Attorney Sharon Wilson, Tarrant County Criminal Judges (felony and misdemeanor), Fort Worth City Manager David Cooke, Assistant City Manager Jay Chapa, and Fort Worth Police Chief Ed Kraus​ to act immediately to protect the lives and safety of the people impacted by policing, and our county’s jail, confinement, and court system. This includes individuals in custody and​ police and jail staff, as well as their family members and communities.

These tragic and unnecessary incidents are a direct result of your inaction and nonchalant approach to decarceration during this health crisis. On March 25, the jail population stood at 3,552. It has now ballooned back up to it's highest point since that day, at 3,764 - roughly 80% of capacity. At 80% capacity social distancing is not possible, nor is ensuring adequate staffing coverage for at risk and special needs populations. This is why we are demanding that you course correct and act now to reduce the jail population at Tarrant County jail by taking the measures that we have outlined below.

Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn:

1) Address care inside. Immediately develop and implement testing protocols for all people who live, work and visit inside jails. Test everyone in the jail. Publish departmental COVID-19 protocols and provide regular online updates for the public, officials and media on the impact of COVID-19 on people inside the jails, including data on both incarcerated people and staff. Make transparent the exact steps that will be taken to prevent infections, and plans to care for those who become sick. This preparation plan should include the frequent and deeper cleaning of transportation vehicles, facilities, clothing, and bedding in all shared and private spaces, as well as the use of more effective disinfectants; ensure incarcerated persons have adequate access to sanitation supplies upon request. Immediately educate the jail population on risks and precautions to take regarding COVID-19, and provide equitable, free access to soap, water, CDC approved hand sanitizer, paper towels, toilet tissue and other personal hygiene items and personal protective equipment needed to keep inmates, staff, and the spaces they inhabit, clean, healthy and safe. Every person in the jail should be furnished a clean fresh mask daily and required to wear the mask at all times, as social distancing is still not a possibility. Implement effective quarantine protocols. No one who is symptomatic and unconfirmed COVID-19 positive, should be in a cell with another individual. Nor should new detainees under quarantine. If a new detainee happens to be an asymptomatic carrier, everyone else in the quarantine has now been exposed. That is not an effective quarantine protocol. Again, test everyone in the jail. Without mass testing you cannot implement effective quarantines. All people who remain in custody should be cared for.

2) The Sheriff’s Department should work with ​the Department of Health and Human Services to immediately identify medically vulnerable people in the jail and specifically in the pre-trial population, then coordinate with the District Attorney’s Office to petition the court for their immediate release to either home confinement, hospitalization, reduced and personal recognizance bonds, or dismissed cases. This includes, but is not limited to, people who are COVID-19 positive, people age 50 and older, pregnant people, people with compromised immune systems such as: chronic lung conditions, hepatitis C, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, hypertension, asthma, and/or cardiac disease, including those with ICE detainers.

3) Provide a list of all low level offenses, including those with ICE detainers, to the District Attorney within the next 48 hours so that cases can be reviewed and considered for release.

4) Immediately suspend arrests and/or booking​ ​of individuals suspected of technical parole or probation violation, possession of marijuana or controlled substances, failure to pay traffic tickets or civil fines, or any other crimes that do not pose a safety risk to the community, especially those committed by people who are currently houseless.

5) Cite and release all those who are eligible under Texas Code of Criminal Procedures (Article 14.06), rather than booking them and potentially introducing COVID-19 into the jail system.

6) Guarantee free access to phone calls, mail and court hearings.​ Incarcerated people already experience prolonged isolation from their families and communities. Fear of exposure should not be justification to further isolate incarcerated people, nor keep them from their right to due process. Provide safe and accessible no contact visitation options to families and defense council, such as no-cost virtual visitation. These actions should be temporary and are not a permanent replacement for in-person visitations, which should be re-instituted as soon as possible; as to not interrupt the social well-being of the incarcerated population. And, in the interest of justice and public safety, incarcerated people should have access to expedited court hearings.

7) Release all inmates from solitary confinement so that their health can be easily assessed, and do not use this punishment as a means to isolate sick inmates, as that is inhumane.

8) Extend paid sick leave to all employees,​ including those with temporary/part-time employment status. County trustees who do not feel well must not be forced to work.

9) Eliminate​ any and all medical co-pays or sick call fees.

10) Eliminate any and all coordination with ICE and CBP. Our immigrant community deserves to feel safe enough to deal with this crisis without the fear of deportation. During this crisis, ICE detainer requests or “holds” must be suspended.

11) Be transparent. Release your plans for all of the above, publicly.

Tarrant County District Attorney Sharen Wilson:

1) Decline criminal charges whenever possible. ​For charges not declined, reduce as many as possible to citations or non-warrant, non-arrest charges, with return dates that are not before the end of the COVID-19 crisis, or at least 6 months from the date of the alleged incident.

2) Advocate for the release of all medically fragile adults and adults over the age of 50, who pose no threat to the community, ​in the interest of justice. ​Jails​ house large numbers of people with chronic illnesses and complex medical needs, who are​ ​more vulnerable​ to becoming seriously ill and requiring more medical care with COVID-19. Releasing these vulnerable groups from jail will reduce the need to provide complex medical care or transfers to hospitals when staff will be stretched thin.

3) Withdraw the motion to revoke/adjudicate individuals suspected of technical probation violation.

4) Advocate for the immediate release of all people held on probation and parole technical violation detainers or sentences.

5) Advocate for the immediate release of anyone within six months of completing their sentence and all individuals charged with an offense that does not involve a serious safety risk to a person(s) in the community. By the time most of these new individuals are processed they will most likely be eligible for a program that makes them strong candidates for conditional or actual release.

6) Immediately implement a pretrial policy that requires all prosecutors to advocate for the pretrial release​ ​of​ ​all individuals.

7) Require prosecutors to provide a public health/COVID-19-informed justification​ for any actions/requests that would require attendance or transfer into courthouses, jails, and prisons. Ensure those justifications are on the record for public scrutiny.

8) Refuse to ask the court to issue “failure to appear” warrants​ or, “bench warrants” and agree to jointly waive the appearance of people who are out-of-custody.

9) Work with defense attorneys, and courts to ensure that people in custody receive constitutionally-mandated speedy trials, and bond reduction hearings.

10) Default to noncustodial sentences wherever possible​, including resolutions that avoid immigration detention where outbreak potential is high.

11) Extend paid sick leave to all employees,​ including those with temporary/part-time employment status.

Tarrant County Criminal Judges:

1) Expedite hearings to accelerate the release of any and all individuals.

2) Default to noncustodial sentences​, including resolutions that avoid immigration detention where outbreak potential is highest.

3) Reduce number of in-person court appearances​ for non-essential issues and low-level cases. If requested by defense counsel, agree to waive clients’ appearance for status court dates (for people both in and out of custody).

4) Decline to issue “failure to appear” warrants​ or “bench warrants.”

5) Cancel all probation, parole, and pretrial meetings;​ court-ordered classes; in-person drug testing; waive probation/parole collection fees; collection of court debt; and modify all reporting conditions to phone-reporting.

6) Cancel probation or parole revocation hearings​ based on technical violations upon request of defense counsel and release those held in custody pending hearings on signature bonds.

7) Require that prosecutors provide public health/COVID-19-informed justification​ for any actions/requests that would bring people into courthouses, jails, and prisons. Ensure those justifications are on the record for public scrutiny.

8) Ensure electronic monitoring and home confinement conditions allow people to seek medical help and care for family members.

9) Heavily consider the significant risk of mortality​ and spread of COVID-19 inside custodial facilities, when considering bail applications and post-conviction motions to modify sentences, with documented notations in cases of denial.

10) Extend paid sick leave to all employees​, including those with temporary/part-time employment status.

Tarrant County Commissioners & Judge Glen Whitley:

1) Issue an urgent statement​ explaining why adherence to community demands for immediate COVID-19 related changes to the arrest and detention practices of the police, Sheriff’s Department, District Attorney’s Office and the Courts is vital for the health and safety of the entire county.

2) Require the development of COVID-19 related protocol plans from all relevant county departments and review the efficacy and adequacy of each plan. Provide daily updates on how county officials are taking measures in providing support to individuals inside, and post these on the county website.

3) The county should provide a public plan for vulnerable unhoused residents and recently released individuals with safe and sanitary community-based housing alternatives​ ​to protect against the spread of COVID-19.

4) Give emergency funding​ to the Tarrant county court appointed attorneys to support getting people out of custody and into housing and support services.

5) No citizenship status checks at testing facilities to ensure that the undocumented community feels safe seeking medical attention. In addition, citizenship must not be a barrier to free health services.

6) Extend paid sick leave to all employees​, including those with temporary/part-time employment status.

7) Immediately identify and remove barriers to community based organizations accessing county funding to be able to expand their capacity to deliver services. Allocate emergency funding to provide immediate health and human services to address the crisis and support individuals released from custody​. ​Funding should be allocated to implement the following services:

- Testing kits for every detained individual at all lock-down facilities, community-
based treatment and transitional housing centers and county hospitals.

- Drive-through testing locations throughout the county, with particular attention to
areas with the highest concentration of unhoused, formerly incarcerated and low-
income people.

- Emergency housing for unhoused individuals who have tested positive for COVID-
19 or are at high risk of contraction.

- In-patient and out-patient drug treatment and mental health services.

- Expansion of diversion and reentry support for transition of vulnerable
incarcerated people out of custody and into community based treatment, as well
as pre-trial individuals with mental health and behavioral health needs.

- Special consideration that with more people transitioning out of jail to prevent the
spread of COVID-19 there will be a greater demand for access to food, clothing
and general healthcare/wellness services.

Fort Worth City Manager David Cooke, Assistant City Manager Jay Chapa, & Police Chief Ed Kraus:

1) Immediately suspend arrests and/or booking​ ​of individuals suspected of technical parole or probation violation, possession of marijuana or controlled substances, failure to pay traffic tickets or civil fines, or any other crimes that do not pose a safety risk to the community, especially those committed by people who are currently houseless.

2) Cite and Release all those who are eligible under Texas Code of Criminal Procedures (Article 14.06), rather than booking them and potentially introducing COVID-19 into the jail system.

3) Direct law enforcement to cease making custodial arrests. The number one goal to ensure public safety is to discourage swelling populations of people sharing space. The highest priority should be to keep community members out of institutions where an outbreak is currently happening.

4) Re-purpose the police to act as a community safety team, one whose main charge is to act compassionately and responsively to the emergency needs of Black, Brown, impoverished, people with disabilities and other often marginalized communities who are often criminalized by police forces and already existing on the fringes of society. This is the most critical position that our law enforcement can take at this time — to instill a sense of hope in a time of crisis. The most imminent threat to Tarrant County at this moment is the threat of COVID-19 and its exacerbation through unnecessary incarceration.

Lastly, we are calling on all of you to commit to continue the implementation of these decarceral measures once this pandemic ends — to minimize the number of confined people and to improve conditions for those who are incarcerated, both in anticipation of the next pandemic and in recognition of the every day public health impact of mass incarceration.

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*We want to give a special thank you to our colleagues at Faith In Action and Faith In Texas, whose continued support and partnership has helped further and strengthen this call for action in Tarrant County.

**We want to thank our colleagues at JusticeLA, whose thoughtful guidance served as the framework for this platform, and the Live Free Detroit Coalition, who helped develop the language for these recommendations.