Eisha Love sat in Cook County Jail for nearly four years without a trial. The unfortunate reality is that she is not alone.
The criminal legal system in this country provides cruel and unusual punishment even prior to trial for thousands of people each year. Most of the people who end up caught in this web are there because they don't have the money for proper legal representation, or for even minimal amounts of bail that would set them free to prepare their defense.
In many cases, people are caught up precisely because they are poor, unable to pay fees on top of fees for minor traffic or other offenses.
The system is broken, and it is breaking the backs of the people.
In Cook County, we are witnessing the crisis on a daily basis, and the Cook County State's Attorney's Office, the Cook County Sheriff, and the Cook County Board all must play a role in fixing these tragic mistakes.
In the case of Eisha Love, a trans woman who waited far too long for justice, Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez's Office continually delayed Love's day in court, with charges that ultimately did not fit the crime. There were times when no representative of the state's attorney's office even bothered to show up for a court date. This was incompetence and neglect, but unfortunately it is all too common for the average defendant.
Yes, there are too few resources to do the proper work of the system. But that excuse assumes the overall system would be fine with just more money. It would not.
Love was also placed in Division IX—a super maximum security male facility. There she spent 23 hours per day locked in her cell.
In 2014, Divisions IX and X were at the center of a lawsuit brought by Northwestern University's MacArthur Justice Center.
"A culture of brutality and lawlessness infects the jail and forces [prisoners], all of whom are awaiting trial, to live under a constant risk of life threatening violence," plaintiff's attorneys stated. "Officers slam people to the floor, stomp, kick and punch them—often while the individuals are handcuffed and shackled."
Often, due to over-crowding, a male inmate would be placed in Love's cell. Correctional officers referred to her with male pronouns and subjected her to verbal abuse. She had no choice in the matter and any recourse she attempted went nowhere.
Multiple psychological studies have found that the kind of isolation to which Love was subjected lead to, among other effects, rage, anxiety and paranoia.
It is not fair to have people sitting in jail awaiting trial for years. For a transgender woman placed in the isolation of "protective custody" it can be like torture.
Society pays for it as do the individuals robbed of their humanity.
Both Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart claim to want a more fairly administered system. Working with other elected officials, there are things we can innovate in Cook County that would save both time and money, and lead to a more just society.
— Other cites have successfully created a pre-trial release system for more than 90 percent of those arrested, including those arrested for any non-violent offenses.
— We can create a restorative justice court for both juvenile and adult offenders, to remove many crimes away from the traditional criminal legal system.
— We should legalize ( and tax ) marijuana, and issue tickets for any other drug-use crimes. Creating a free drug and alcohol rehabilitation network would be much cheaper than continuing to lock up people in jail for using substances.
— We should legalize all sex work and regulate the industry so that the workers are protected, and sex trafficking is not allowed to flourish.
— The crisis in mental health is real. Dart recognizes that Cook County Jail has become a mental health dumping ground. We must not lock up those with mental illness in jails thinking this will be a cure. They will be out some day, and likely worse off. We need to restore the mental health safety net in this city with true mental health reform and resources.
— Transgender individuals should be housed according to their gender identity or, at the very least, given a voice in the matter. Correctional officers who abuse them whether verbally or physically must be held to account. Time and again the Prison Rape Elimination Act ( PREA ) has proven to be useless as a remedy.
Eisha Love is just one case among thousands that have been mishandled in this county in recent years. We, as a taxpayers and as a society, are not served by a criminal legal system that makes the situation worse.
