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.
Until justice is real,
Scott ROBERTS, via OrganizeFor
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