SOCIAL JUSTICE BLOG
Read and share the extraordinary stories from the frontlines of social change
Receiving Medical and Mental Healthcare on the Inside
No one expects going to jail to be pleasant. In West Virginia, however, going to jail can be more than just an unpleasant experience, due in part to a major function of jails that many people who have never been to one may not consider: healthcare. Many people who end up in jails, particularly in West Virginia, aren’t only struggling with these types of conditions but may (also) be dealing with serious addiction or mental health issues. People enter jails in need of high quality medical and mental healthcare, provided in a timely and professional manner. What many people have received in West Virginia jails in recent years, however, is anything but that.
Victory for Unhoused People in Ocala, Florida - Court Rules City Ordinance Unconstitutional
After Patrick McArdle’s eighth arrest in early 2019 for sleeping on public property in Ocala, Florida, he could no longer accept the injustice of being arrested merely because he was unhoused. When he was unable to make bond, he decided to spend his time in jail in the library, researching constitutional caselaw about sleeping ordinances. When he stumbled upon Martin v. Boise, he felt vindicated — he was now sure the City’s efforts to arrest and incarcerate unhoused residents in Ocala for sleeping outside were, like Boise’s, in violation of the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.
Ohio Voting Rights Case For Pretrial Detainees Erupts Out Of 2018 Midterms
Ohio, like many states, has a system that allows people who experience unforeseen hospitalization or other medical emergencies to request, receive, and cast absentee ballots, even if their emergency took place after the normal absentee ballot request deadline. However, despite the constitutional presumption of innocence, the same provision is not available to voters arrested after the deadline. These voters, have not been convicted of any crime, are similarly unable to reach the polls on Election Day, yet they are denied access to the emergency voting procedure.