Author: Torchlight

Yesterday afternoon anarchists and others held a car-based noise demo at the county courthouse to demand that prisoners at risk of coronavirus infection be released from Allegheny County Jail. A couple of dozen vehicles circled the building for an hour, honking their horns and hanging signs out their windows, while a handful of protesters on foot (fully masked!) took pictures and chanted through bullhorns. A phone zap was held the same day, which reportedly filled up the voicemail accounts of the judges being targeted.

The police showed up late and didn’t do anything besides block other traffic from  entering the demo. No arrests were made or tickets given.

Continue reading “Car Demo and Phone Zap Held for Prisoners in ACJ”

From IGD

Pittsburgh’s Bukit Bail Fund is calling for a phone zap marathon in solidarity with prisoners in Allegheny County Jail, who are at at high risk of infection with coronavirus. Targets for the first three days are included below, with more to come soon. Give them no peace until our friends are safe!

More than 1,600 people are currently held in the Allegheny County Jail (ACJ) in crowded, unsanitary conditions. Hundreds of staff enter and leave the facility each day. As of April 9th, more than 80% of those at ACJ are unconvicted; instead, 43% are held on alleged violations of probation, many of them technical violations or based on non-violent charges; 22% of them are held pretrial only, with their presumption of innocence intact; countless numbers are held simply because they cannot afford cash bail. Only 113 people in ACJ are serving a sentence, and nearly all of those sentences are for minor charges.

Continue reading “Phone Zap for Prisoners at Allegheny County Jail”

UPDATE 3, 04/19/2020: ACJ’s updated statistics show only five new prisoners being tested. This indicates that the inmates who had contact with the infected CO are not being tested, since there must have been far more than five of them. In addition, we have learned that Deputy Warden Laura Williams is the final arbiter of which inmates get tested for coronavirus, despite the fact that she has no medical training.

UPDATE 2: Contrary to our previous reporting, prisoners in ACJ can buy postage stamps, but the process to do so is byzantine. A family member must access the prisoner’s commissary account to buy the stamps, which are then delivered to the prisoner’s cell. We do not know how long this takes, but suspect the wait is lengthy.

UPDATE 1: Pittsburgh Current has published an article featuring a current prisoner at ACJ that confirms much of our information, and further exposes the media coverup of the Covid-19 outbreak in the jail. 60 prisoners recently wrote and signed a letter to the media, which never appeared in any outlet. In addition a second jail employee, this one a CO who had contact with prisoners, has tested positive. ACJ has updated their statistics to reflect the new data, but has not made any further announcement. No other outlets than the Current have reported on the new case.

Continue reading “Conditions Inside ACJ Deteriorating Rapidly”

A coalition of organizations and individuals has released an open letter demanding that Allegheny County Jail release most prisoners, among other measures designed to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the facility.

The letter is reposted below. To sign on to it contact acjcovidresponse AT gmail.com.

Continue reading “Pittsburgh Progressive Groups Demand Release of ACJ Prisoners to Fight Coronavirus”

Pitt Mutual Aid is a newly-formed team of student leaders dedicated to providing up-to-date information and resources for the COVID-19 pandemic. A Google Doc form where people can request or offer help is available here. Also check out their Instagram page.

As a result of the institutional and business responses, as well as the crisis itself, COVID-19 has evidently displaced and disrupted many students’ and community members’ lives in the past couple of weeks. Pitt Mutual Aid has worked hard thus far to provide mutual aid with housing, transportation, storage, emotional and spiritual support, and community building. We have also provided social media and a response resource guide as a way for the community to be more prepared with centralized, up-to-date information and resources.

However, our team seeks to expand our reach and help those disrupted in an even bigger way. Groceries, monetary funding and aid, and more platforms for community are some avenues of growth coming soon. As a team of six college students, we understand that this severe situation requires its own care and work, so we are looking for volunteers to join our team!

To get involved, fill out the PMA volunteer form.