My son is dying in jail. Please help me save him. [Archive]

ckaihatsu

28th March 2017, 14:58

My son is dying in jail. Please help me save him.

A Michigan jail is denying Demitrius treatment for a chronic illness.

https://d11gn0ip9m46ig.cloudfront.net/images/FreeDemitriusNoLogo.png (https://coc.actionkit.com/go/7624?t=1&akid=7169.872082.P28r31)

Tell Judge Levy: Save Demitrius!

TAKE ACTION! (https://coc.actionkit.com/go/7624?t=1&akid=7169.872082.P28r31)

Dear Chris,

My name is Tia Sumner and I'm the mother of Demitrius Manderfield. I am emailing you with pain in my heart because my son is being tortured in a Michigan jail and will die if he does not receive help. He has not been convicted of any crime but has been caged behind bars for three months, and is being denied treatment for his painful and chronic illness sickle beta thalassemia. His judge, Judith Levy, promised that she would release him for treatment if his medical needs aren’t being met, but nothing has been done. Demitrius’ next court date is on April 7 and my efforts alone are not enough to save him. Will you fight with me?

Please tell Judge Judith Levy: Release Demitrius Manderfield so he can receive health care before he dies in Milan Federal Correctional Facility. (https://coc.actionkit.com/go/7624?t=3&akid=7169.872082.P28r31)

On March 7, when Demitrius appeared in Judge Levy’s courtroom, she assured us that if my son’s medical needs weren’t being met she would consider releasing him. But it’s now day 16 since she told us this and he still has not been released or treated. The judge said that she would rule in 24 hours on March 7, 2017. I have continued to call Judge Levy and his prosecuting attorney Sara Woodward and urge for his freedom and access to proper health care, but I am only met with broken promises and false claims that he is being treated.

Jails in the United States are known to be danger zones for people with disabilities --especially Black folks.1 We have lost so many Black people like Sandra Bland, Darren Rainey, Ralkina Jone ---all died behind bars because jail correctional officers and jail health practitioners have no empathy for those who are perceived as criminals. Over half of people locked up have not even been convicted of any crime, including my son Demitrius.2 Folks are being caged because they are either unable to pay bail or they are being denied bail -- making the “innocent until proven guilty” principle our criminal justice system claims to practice obsolete. By refusing to provide chronically ill inmates with medical treatment, jails are literally sentencing people to death before a judge has even convicted them of a crime. We can’t let this happen to my son Demitrius.

Will you please help save my son’s life? (https://coc.actionkit.com/go/7624?t=4&akid=7169.872082.P28r31)

In faith,

Tia, mother of Demitrius Manderfield

References:

1. "Disabled Behind Bars" Center for American Progress, July 18, 2016

2. "Transformative Bail Reform" Movement for Black Lives, March 2017

Join us and start your own petition on OrganizeFor today! (https://coc.actionkit.com/go/7577?t=8&akid=7169.872082.P28r31)

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ckaihatsu

21st April 2017, 18:32

The fight isn't over 20-year-old Demitrius may die in jail before his next court date

Dear Supporters,

Demitrius Manderfield is hanging on to his health by a thread. His mother, Tia was devastated when Judge Judith Levy recently denied Demitrius’ release from prison so he could receive life saving medical treatment for his chronic illness. Demitrius has blacked out several times while alone in his cell and he is experiencing intense body pain. Demitrius’ sickness requires him to have blood transfusions every three weeks, but Federal Correctional Institution Milan is refusing this treatment--only giving him ibuprofen.

Demitrius' illness is not a measly headache that can be cured with over the counter drugs. If he does not receive the proper medical care he will die before he is even convicted of a crime. Will you join us in amping up our advocacy to save Demitrius’ life before it’s too late?

Share this petition with your friends and family and demand that Demitrius receives proper medical care.

In the last message you received from us, we asked you to call Judge Judith Levy after she called an emergency hearing to avoid Demitrius' original trial date once she heard that Color Of Change was coordinating a protest with Demitrius' mother and community members. Judge Levy and a U.S. Marshal even referenced the petitioning efforts of you and over 77,000 other Color Of Change members during the hearing. But no one has committed to saving Demitrius’ life by releasing him for treatment.

Death and lack of health care access are common for those caged behind bars. But these inhumane conditions are overlooked because of society does not view people who are accused of committing a crime with dignity -especially Black people. We saw this with the case of Sandra Bland, Gynnya McMillen and even Darren Rainey, who suffered from a mental illness and died from guards trapping him in a scalding hot shower. He was found hours later dead, lying face up with his skin slipping off.

The overarching problem is that America’s criminal justice system admittedly works against its own principle of “innocent until proven guilty” and commitment to ensuring everyone receives due process. Just because you are accused of a crime doesn’t mean you committed it. And you can’t receive a fair trial if jail and prison conditions are so inhumane that people are dying before they make it to their court date.

Share our demand for Warden Terris to provide life-saving care to Demitrius!

During the time of Judge Levy’s protest-blocking “emergency hearing”, the prison surprisingly released Demitrius for a blood transfusion -- another attempt to quiet down protesting. But a quick fix is not enough to ensure Demitrius will not die before he even stands trial. Our advocacy is working and those in power feel the pressure.

We can’t stop now. Fight to save Demitrius. (https://act.colorofchange.org/go/7797?ak_proof=1&t=5&akid=.0.atiq3u)

Until justice is real,

Scott

Tia Sumner started this petition on OrganizeFor. If there's an issue that you would like to OrganizeFor, you can start your campaign here (http://campaigns.organizefor.org/petition/new?source=petition_email_footer).

You received this email because you signed the petition '#SaveDemitrius (http://campaigns.organizefor.org/petitions/savedemitrius)'. If you don't want to receive emails from the '#SaveDemitrius' campaign in the future, please unsubscribe.