At the beginning of this year, the Harris County Commissioners Court approved of a contract to transfer incarcerated persons from the Harris Co. Jail to LaSalle Corrections in Louisiana. This is a backlog crisis caused by District Attorney Kim Ogg and law enforcement.

Working with our allies in the Texas Jail Project, Grassroots Leadership, as part of the Houston Abolitionist Collective, we are calling on the community to join with the family members of incarcerated persons in a Solidarity March to Depopulate Harris County Jail (#LoveNotLaSalle, #BringThemHome, #FactsNotFear).

We will gather on Saturday, March 5, at 11 AM, at the Harris County Jail, 701 N. San Jacinto St., Houston, TX, 77002. Art, small instruments, and sound makers encouraged! – Protest signs can include: “Harris County Jail is a Public Health Crisis”, “Healthy Communities Make Jails Obsolete”, “Pretrial Detention is Family Separation”, “Bring Our Loved Ones Home”, “Facts Not Fear”.

We are coordinating on Mattermost a meet-up to make signs on Thursday, March 3 at 5 pm. Look for updates there to help and we’ll see you on Saturday!

Our Demands:

Depopulate Harris County Jail-

-drop all felony charges older than 9 months with narrow, minimal exceptions

-immediately release on PR bonds all pregnant people, children 18 years and under, and those medically vulnerable to Covid-19

-immediately release on personal bond those held for technical probation violations

-release everyone serving a sentence in Harris County Jail that is within 6 months of completing their time

Decriminalize Our Communities-

-stop all “quality of life” arrests

-halt enforcement of failure to pay warrants

-cite and release all eligible Misdemeanor A and B offenses

-end the criminalization of houselessness and stop the sweeps

Harris County Jail is a 4 minute walk from the Red Northline TC UH Downtown Stop.

Take the 11 to San Jacinto @ Baker if you are taking a METRO bus.

On-street parking is PAID on Saturdays before 6 pm- be sure to pay your meter before joining the event.

Do you have a loved one that has been transferred to a LaSalle facility in Louisiana due to overcrowding? Text or call 832-654-2024 to be connected with fellow advocates and request support.