St. Louis got some good news last week.
In May, I wrote a piece of commentary published by The American that criticized three of the highest-profile public officials in our region and encouraged them to be bolder and more innovative in addressing the systemic inequities in St. Louis. One was Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, whose inaction on serious bail reform and prosecution of nonviolent drug crimes have been deeply disappointing for the poor communities of color that drive the work of ArchCity Defenders.
I believe it is crucial to be clear and honest about what we should expect from public officials, particularly in terms of their attentiveness to marginalized communities. I also believe it is important to encourage our public servants when they get it right.
Last week, Gardner did the right thing, and it deserves acknowledgement. On June 12, Gardner communicated to her staff a new policy that the circuit attorney’s office will not pursue cases for possession of marijuana under 100 grams. This is an eminently sensible policy, particularly in a region where black residents make up 85 percent of arrests solely for marijuana possession, despite ample evidence that marijuana use is roughly equivalent across race.
We should support this step toward decarceration and recognize that this is precisely the kind of policymaking by Gardner that was hoped for by the progressive coalition that voted her into office. We should also implore her to disregard the narrow-minded chatter of those committed to maintaining the status quo of criminalization and systemic racial disparity.
And we should encourage her, and others, to do more. Much more.
If you are wondering how, look no further than the campaign to Close the Workhouse. By now, most St. Louisans have heard one horror story after another about this deplorable jail, whether about the triple-digit temperatures inside that made headlines last summer; the unspeakable conditions ranging from insects and rodents to mold and sewage overflow; or the gladiator-style fights allowed and encouraged by Workhouse guards. What fewer realize is that almost none of the detainees exposed to these horrendous conditions have been found guilty of any crime. The Workhouse is where the City of St. Louis warehouses people – 89 percent of whom are black – who are being detained pretrial because they cannot afford to bail out.
The long-term trauma inflicted upon those who have experienced the horrific reality of the Workhouse is incalculable. Inez Bordeaux, a former Workhouse detainee and leader in the campaign to close the jail, says this about her time in the Workhouse: “Being locked in a place that’s not fit for animals, let alone humans; being treated and talked to like you’re less than nothing changes you in a way that leaves a stain on you. It’s irreversible.”
As any decarceration advocate can attest, the one question that is nearly inevitable in response to calls for a jail closure is: “Where will the people go?” In the context of a jail in which 95-99 percent of its detainees on any given day are being held pretrial on a cash bail they cannot afford, the answer – as my friend and Urban League advocacy director Redditt Hudson recently put it – is: home.
The City of St. Louis currently spends more than $16 million per year on the Workhouse. In August, voters will decide on a bond issue that will allocate $3.2 million more annually to the facility, ostensibly to address some of the many inhumane conditions plaguing the jail’s inhabitants. Can we think of no better way to spend this money? Can we not instead prioritize safe and affordable housing, well-resourced schools for all of St. Louis’s children, or decent public transportation, instead of keeping a steady supply of hundreds of human beings locked in cages because they don’t have the same resources as a governor or presidential aide?
The Workhouse should be closed and closed now. Gardner should continue to build on her recent efforts by combatting the scourge of cash bail and supporting a true presumption of pretrial release, as required by law. Public Safety Director Jimmie Edwards should use his broad authority to advocate that resources be directed away from the Workhouse and toward community-informed development of the very neighborhoods that have been devastated by the City’s embrace of mass incarceration. Mayor Lyda Krewson should direct the immediate closure of the Workhouse. The Board of Aldermen – and especially those alderpersons representing North City wards most overrepresented among Workhouse detainees – should set a budget that reflects an investment in people and community, not incarceration.
This is not a pipe dream. This change is as doable as it is moral and logical. It merely requires that our public officials summon the political will.
So, a good thing happened last week. Let’s keep doing better.
If you’re interested in supporting or becoming part of the campaign to Close the Workhouse, contact us at closetheworkhouse@gmail.com or join us for a campaign launch on the 4th of July. For more information, visit www.closetheworkhouse.org.
