The legal team and several families represented by the Fair Fight Initiative attended a hearing before the United States Senate.  Each of the family members lost a loved one to America’s brutal jail system.  Leading the families into Congress was our Executive Director, Linda Franks, who also tragically lost her son while in custody.

For close to a year, Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff led a bipartisan investigation bringing Democrats and Republicans together to investigate why in 2021 the Department of Justice failed to account for nearly 1000 deaths in local jails and prisons across the country.

While it is a tragedy when anyone dies in custody, it is especially cruel when it happens in our jails.  Remember that jails hold pretrial detainees, people arrested and accused of crimes, but not convicted.  Most are in jail before their trial simply because they are too poor to afford cash bonds.  These individuals had not yet been tried or convicted of any crimes, and the vast majority of these deaths could have been prevented.  At a minimum, they should be counted.

Of those presenting testimony was Belinda L. Maley, who lost her son Matthew Loflin because of medical neglect for his preexisting heart condition. Part of her testimony included a recording of the last call that she had with her son on the phone where he stated that he was in tremendous pain and was going to die in jail because he was not receiving the medical treatment that he desperately needed.

Vanessa Fano presented testimony about the loss of her brother Jonathan Fano.  Jonathan was arrested in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in the middle of a psychotic breakdown, half-naked and talking to an imaginary friend.  Instead of taking Jonathan to a medical facility for evaluation, he was taken to Baton Rouge’s jail, one of the deadliest in the United States. Once there, he attempted suicide by cutting his wrist.  Again, rather than receiving mental health care, his wrist was stitched up, he was cited for violating the jail rule against “self-mutilation,” and thrown in solitary confinement for 92 straight days.  In spite of writing “the walls are closing in” to the health care provider in the jail, he never received treatment before he committed suicide.

Louisiana’s juvenile detention centers have been notoriously mismanaged, with alarmingly frequent headlines pointing out a rash of violent incidents and escapes. Rather than address any of those issues head-on and make meaningful changes to a broken system, the governor’s office proposed a radical solution: moving teens to the infamous Angola prison for adults.

A former slave plantation, Angola has gained a chilling notoriety as one of the most horrifying prisons in the world due to its long history of abuse and institutional violence. And it is in this very prison that the governor wanted to lock up vulnerable youth, retraumatizing them and all but ensuring the cycle of imprisonment continues for the rest of their lives.

Besides being a possible violation of federal law, this decision from the governor completely disregards basic humane principles of juvenile justice and perpetuates a culture of violence and pain. Joining their voices to the parents of youth in juvenile detention, the people of Louisiana were quick to speak out against this tragic abuse of the law.

The Fair Fight Initiative heard the outcry from the public and our donors and swiftly moved into action, drafting up a lawsuit that would protect these vulnerable youth before they could be handed over to the notorious prison.

Guards placed Lamar in a jail  dorm without an initial assessment and with a reputation for being dangerous.

In a lawsuit filed by Lamar’s family, the dorm, known as Q8, was said to be understaffed. The suit also says a dangerous drug was openly peddled in the prison with the guard’s knowledge and potentially to their benefit. It’s one known to cause paranoia and psychosis—synthetic marijuana or “mojo.”

No one really knows except the jail.  Days after being placed in solitary confinement, he was found on the floor of his cell after hanging from his bed sheet on the open bars of the cell.

The Fair Fight Initiative supports the families of victims like Lamar, who pay the price of horrible conditions and treatment in prisons and jails in the Deep South. Through donations, we support families to bring litigation when they would typically give up the fight against the system that allows deaths like Lamar’s to occur.

Please consider donating to the Fair Fight Initiative to help us protect people like Lamar Johnson.

In March of 2021, the legislative caucus and the NAACP called for a formal and thorough review of the Baton Rouge Police Department Narcotics Division following a string of arrests among officers that include brazen evidence tampering and corruption. Lending greater urgency to the investigation was the fact that these crimes had been so ignored by their colleagues and blatantly covered up by higher ups within the police force.

Whistleblower Jeremiah Ardoin came forward with evidence that he had tried to notify administration of the vast number of civil rights violations and illegal seizures a year before the review but had been silenced.

District Attorney Hillar Moore swept into action, tallying up 712 cases that were eligible for dismissal due to connections to the most notorious of the arrested cops—Jason Acree.  In the aftermath of the massive corruption investigation, the narcotics division was dissolved. Officers resigned or were reassigned.

The corruption had been rooted out, but the fight remains to free those who had been wrongfully imprisoned and mistreated under this corrupt regime. And the Fair Fight Initiative has taken up that challenge, starting this past summer with an exhaustive review of more than 7,500 cases.

Working with the law firms of Longman Jakuback and Murrell Law Firm, we determined that there were 75 people still incarcerated who were entitled to relief. Of those, 20 were imprisoned as a direct result of the corruption in the BRPD Narcotics Division.

Our next step was to alert the DA to our findings and ask for cooperation in determining which individuals would be eligible for release. We then filed legal paperwork to preserve the rights of those 20 we had identified as being victims of the BRPD’s corruption.

As you know, the cash bond and bail system in this country is broken at best and willfully corrupt at worst.  By forcing people without wealth to come up with money they don’t have or stay in jail, this system twists the concept of justice to keep citizens in jail regardless of guilt or innocence.  Thanks to your generous contributions, Fair Fight took this system to federal court in Baton Rouge Louisiana.  In our suit, we alleged that judges were violating two parts of the constitution, namely due process and equal protection.

Lee Creely had two young children and a girlfriend who loved him dearly.  None of them could be there when he died, alone in the jail in Savannah Georgia.  Locked up for neglecting to report a change of his address to his probation officer, Lee began withdrawing from his anti-anxiety medicine and heroin.  Rather than provide counseling for his substance abuse disorder and treatment for his withdrawals, the for-profit healthcare provider failed to monitor Lee’s condition and left him alone to die in his cell.

As in jails across Georgia and Louisiana, the same for-profit healthcare provider put their profits above Lee’s life.  And they’ve done this again and again, with 17 inmates dying over the last seven years at that same jail.  Fair Fight Initiative is now seeking justice for Mr. Creely’s family, and as fight for his family we expose the systemic injustice of privatized health care in these jails.

For years, the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections contracted LaSalle Corrections to operate prisons on behalf of Louisiana’s citizens.  This is true even though LaSalle has a long and sordid history of neglecting people in its care.  The Fair Fight Initiative collaborated with the National Police Accountability project and local civil rights lawyer Christopher Murell to file a lawsuit on behalf of the mother of a mentally ill man who died in LaSalle’s “care.”  While going through a psychotic episode, Jennifer Bartie’s son was arrested and subsequently incarcerated without treatment for his mental health.  Our investigation discovered that after six days without being seen by a mental health provider, Ms. Bartie’s son  was able to gain access to insecticide, which he ingested.  His mental state further agitated,  began banging his head against the wall, and ultimately died as a result of his self-inflicted injuries.

Locked in a small, dingy cell for all but 20 minutes a day, Jonathan’s mental health  deteriorated, but guards and doctors took no notice. In spite of a number of requests for medical attention, including one request complaining that the “walls are closing in,” jail and medical officials ignored Jonathan or when they did see him, claimed he was faking his symptoms.

Jonathan was seen by a psychiatrist two times during his 94 days in the jail.  First, on November 3, 2016, he was taken off of suicide watch and left in the isolation cell.  The second time, on January 18, 2017, the doctor deemed that Jonathan was “exaggerating his condition” and ordered that Jonathan was to be tapered off his antipsychotics.

Tragically, two weeks after the doctor’s orders, Jonathan hung himself in his solitary cell. The Promise of Justice Initiative found that in the four years before Jonathan’s death, 25 inmates died at the jail, 2.5 times the national average inmate death rate.

Jonathan’s mother filed a suit against the parish for improper medical and mental health treatment. The lawsuit seeks compensation, but more important to the family is the fight to shine a light on the conditions at the jail and insure others aren’t left to suffer there.

The Fair Fight Initiative supports the families of the victims of dangerous prison conditions to seek justice and reform. Through donations, we help to fund their legal cases and bring awareness to these deplorable conditions.

Jonathan needed medical treatment. Instead, he got solitary confinement and neglect. Please consider donating to the Fair Fight Initiative to help us fight for changes to inhumane and deadly conditions in our jails and prisons.

Within 38 seconds of police approaching Patrick and asking his name, police yell “tase him.”

Officers tase Patrick twice and subsequently arrest him for obstruction by resisting arrest. Only then did the police uncover his identification and realize he was not who they thought he was.  Nonetheless they arrested him, taking him to the jail.

As soon as officers realize what’s happened, they start explaining that they asked for his ID and that he looks just like the suspect in question. They even appeal to neighbors to agree that Patrick looks like Clay. It would be comical if it were not offensive.

On the body camera video, they first say they asked for his ID three times, then four times, continuously pointing to their cameras as if their justification lies right there on their shoulders.

Fortunately, Patrick found legal representation that not only helped him navigate the criminal justice system but brought national attention to the unlawful actions of law enforcement. The obstruction charges were dropped and lawyers associated with the Fair Fight Initiative secured a personal apology from the chief of police and a $100,000 civil settlement.

Had his lawyers not intervened, Patrick would have violated his probation for a first-time nonviolent offense and lost his job and his admission at college.

Had Patrick found less aggressive representation or been unable to afford it, he stood to spend seven years in prison because officers didn’t follow protocol.

If that bothers you, consider donating to the Fair Fight Initiative. The Fair Fight Initiative helps level the playing field for people like Patrick through donations for legal representation and advocacy.

Please consider donating to the Fair Fight Initiative to help us bring national attention to these cases and fight for people like Patrick.

Tyrin’s case represents the worst of what happens when states refuse to adequately fund public defenders.  Although Tyrin was tortured from almost his first day in EBRPP, his murder at the hands of another detainee came after Tyrin should have been released.  Prosecutors in Louisiana have sixty (60) days to bring charges against a pretrial detainee.  La. Code Crim. Proc. Art. 701(B)(1)(a).

If Baton Rouge had a functioning public defender’s office, one whose lawyers visited their clients in jail upon being retained and filed motions for their release when the state fails to timely charge defendants, Tyrin would be alive today.

Even though in EBRPP for over 100 days, no lawyer visited Tyrin and no motions were filed to challenge the fact that no formal charges were filed.

Tyrin’s treatment in EBRPP symbolizes what happens to society’s most vulnerable in jails and prisons that are underfunded and poorly run.  Upon his admission to EBRPP on Nov. 6, 2015, Tyrin was tall—5’ 11”—and incredibly skinny.  At 129 pounds he had a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 18.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Tyrin was in the 4th percentile in BMI-for-age for boys aged 17 years and 8 months old and considered underweight.  He had no serious mental health diagnosis, but within 4 days of admission, he became suicidal.

According to EBRPP documents, this is what we know about the time Tyrin spent in EBRPP:

• November 10, 2015: Within less than a week of being in EBRPP, Tyrin reported that he was “feeling suicidal.”

• November 13, 2015: Tyrin reported hearing voices, hallucinating, and told EBRPP staff that “he needs help.”

• November 17, 2015: An EBRPP deputy found Tyrin rocking back and talking to a wall in his cell, #15 in the juvenile wing.  As the deputy approached Tyrin, Tyrin began to shake. That same day, medical personnel documented that Tyrin was “very anxious” and that he was “not sleeping at all” and not eating because of attacks by other prisoners on the juvenile wing.

• November 25, 2015: Tyrin reported being sexually assaulted by another prisoner.

 • December 1, 2015: Tyrin was sprayed in the face with pepper spray by an EBRPP deputy as the deputy and 2 other guards engaged Tyrin to move him from his cell.

• December 6, 2015: Tyrin had his forearm broken by another prisoner.  It would be 5 days before Tyrin was taken to the hospital for treatment.

• January 13, 2016: Tyrin informed medical staff that he was the victim of bullying on the juvenile wing.

•January 23, 2016: Tyrin told a deputy that he wanted to kill himself.  Medical staff ordered that Tyrin be stripped of his clothes, placed in a paper gown, and placed on lockdown.

It would be a few weeks later, on February 17, 2016, that Tyrin suffered the final blow of being murdered by his cellmate, Kermitious Thomas.

According to EBRPP documents, no staff was assigned to monitor the juvenile wing to ensure prisoners on the wing were safe and other prisoners on the unit with Tyrin reported a loud and obvious fight, with no EBRPP staff intervening to protect Tyrin.

The Fair Fight Initiative supports the families of the victims of dangerous prison conditions to seek justice and reform. Through donations, we help to fund their legal cases and bring awareness to these deplorable conditions.

Tyrin needed proper legal representation. Instead, he was forced to remain in prison for longer than legally required, which led to his murder. Please consider donating to the Fair Fight Initiative to help us fight for changes to inhumane and deadly conditions in our jails and prisons.