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The Campaign to Close the Workhouse and Promote a New Vision for St. Louis, 2018

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-EXECUTIVE SUMMARY- 
The City of St. Louis condemns hundreds of mostly poor and Black people to suffer in unspeakably hellish and 
inhumane conditions at the “Workhouse,” officially known as the Medium Security Institution. Over 95% of 
people at the Workhouse are awaiting trial and remain incarcerated due to their inability to afford unusually 
high and unconstitutional cash bonds. They face horrific conditions in the jail, including extreme heat and cold, 
abysmal medical care, rats and cockroach infestations, and mold. The City of St. Louis spends over $16 million 
every year operating this facility with little public benefit. The arrest-and-incarcerate approach to public safety 
targeting the poor and Black communities in St. Louis not only ruins lives, but also does not make the city safer. 
The Workhouse represents one facet of a broader system of criminalization and marginalization in St. Louis.  
Lives are ruined every day by the Workhouse. Take Inez Bordeaux’s experience as an 
example of St. Louis’s past and present racial and class segregation, criminalization, and 
disinvestment:   
Inez  spent  30 days in the jail when she was unable to afford bond set at $25,000 for a 
minor,  technical  probation  offense.  At  the  time,  she  earned  $1,000  per  month  and 
was  raising  four  children.  Due  to  her  incarceration,  Inez lost her nursing license for 
a year and was separated from her children. 
Inez is now a leader in the Close 
the Workhouse campaign.  
The campaign calls for an immediate closure of the 
Workhouse, a reduced incarcerated population in 
St. Louis, and reallocation of current arrest-and- 
incarcerate funding into investments in community 
well-being.  
 

CONTENT OF THE REPORT 
1.

The Story of the Workhouse: Outlines a 
history of abuse, failed attempts at reform, and 
the resistance movement and calls for changes to the jail and the broader criminal legal system.  

2.

The People Harmed by the Workhouse: Outlines and humanizes who is incarcerated at the 
Workhouse, what people are charged with, what practices keep people detained, and the broader 
structural practices of marginalization when interacting with people’s realities of incarceration.  

3.

Why the Workhouse Must Close: Outlines the inhumane and unconstitutional conditions at the jail, 
the public cost of operating the jail, and St. Louis’s unconstitutional pretrial bail practices.  

4.

From Arrest-and-Incarcerate to Community Well-Being: Outlines the failure of St. Louis’s current 
approach to public safety premised on arresting and incarcerating individuals and promotes a new 
vision of public safety premised on programs that promote community well-being. 

5.

The Plan to Close the Workhouse: Outlines a plan calling on three institutional leaders (the Mayor, the 
Circuit Attorney, and the Board of Aldermen) to close the Workhouse, decarcerate St. Louis, and reinvest 
public funds in initiatives that promote a community well-being vision for public safety. 

6.

A Call to Action 

 

2   
 

 

OUR VALUES 
The Workhouse is part and parcel of a racialized system of mass incarceration that grew directly out of slavery 
and Jim Crow and works to perpetuate this shameful legacy in America. The story of the Workhouse illustrates 
this oppressive history. The demands proposed by the campaign aim to limit harms of mass incarceration, 
without legitimizing or justifying the continued caging of people as punishment. 
The Close the Workhouse campaign emerges from the outcry that was the Ferguson Uprising. It’s grounded in a 
commitment to end an ongoing war against Black people that has been waged against generations of families in 
St. Louis. Our aim is not to reform but to deconstruct a racist system that has destroyed lives and to abolish the 
practice of criminalizing the poor. We embrace this task in order to vindicate the victims of the Workhouse and 
to secure future generations’ ability to thrive.1   

 

This report is a collaboration of the individuals subjected to incarceration at the Workhouse and lawyers and 
activists engaged on the issue. 

FINDINGS OF THE REPORT 
Nearly everyone incarcerated in the Workhouse has not been convicted of a crime and is legally 
presumed innocent. The Workhouse almost exclusively confines individuals awaiting trial. Many people 
are incarcerated in cages because they are poor. Most are charged with non-serious crimes related to their 
poverty. Over 10% of those awaiting trial ultimately have their charges dismissed after spending an 
average of 291 days in jail. 
Individuals remain incarcerated in the Workhouse solely because they cannot afford bond. Cash bail 
allows wealthy individuals to be released while confining the poor simply because they cannot pay. Unlike 
similar cities, St. Louis allows only 4% of individuals to be released on a promise to appear, instead setting 
a median bond of $25,000. This is completely unaffordable to the average St. Louisan who has a per capita 
income of $25,434. 
Nearly 90% of the individuals in the Workhouse are Black though only half of St. Louis’s population 
is Black. This outcome reflects the targeted policing and criminalization of segregated Black communities, 
especially communities in North St. Louis. Poor and homeless individuals and those facing mental illness 
are also disproportionately impacted. 
The inhumane and abusive conditions in the Workhouse violate the Constitution. Since opening in 
1966, there has been a well-documented history of inhumane conditions at the Workhouse, continuing to 
today. In the last 5 years, there have been 6 documented deaths. Individuals incarcerated there endure 
extreme temperatures, inadequate sanitation, vermin infestations, and violence. These conditions violate 
the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. 
St. Louis spends $16 million every year to run the Workhouse without making us safer; these are 
funds that should be reinvested in policies to build strong, stable communities. Over half of St. Louis’s 
budget is devoted to “public safety”, but the current approach of policing and incarceration does not make 
us safer. These funds should be reinvested to promote a new vision of public safety that addresses the root 
causes of crime - like economic insecurity, lack of opportunity, living with a mental illness, and substance 
use disorders - to create lasting stability and safety. A portion of these funds should be used to retrain and 
rehire current employees at the Workhouse into other or new City employment. Reallocation of funding 
should occur through a participatory budgeting process that involves all residents in the city, especially the 
most impacted communities.  

 
3   
 

 

DEMANDS: T​ HE PLAN TO CLOSE THE WORKHOUSE​- 
This report outlines a clear plan to address a part of the broader system of criminalization and 
marginalization in St. Louis by outlining a set of steps to decarcerate the city, invest in all its 
communities through a new vision of public safety, and immediately close the Workhouse.  
Who must Close the Workhouse?  
Mayor Krewson: ​By calling for the immediate closure of the Workhouse and directing reinvestment of 
city funds into programs that promote a new vision of public safety. 
➢ Circuit Attorney Gardner: ​By supporting the release of individuals currently detained pretrial, by 
choosing not to prosecute certain charges, and by supporting diversion approaches.   
➢ Board of Aldermen​​: By reinvesting money out of arrest-and-incarcerate models of public safety and into a 
new vision of public safety centered around community well-being. 
➢

 
How can we Close the Workhouse? 

 
See the Plan to Close the Workhouse on pages 31 to 38.   

Release individuals detained pretrial  
The Circuit Attorney’s Office should recommend automatic pretrial release for individuals charged with 
misdemeanors, victimless crimes, and poverty-related offenses. For other charges, there should be a 
presumption of release and individualized release determinations focused on meeting the needs of 
incarcerated peoples and eliminating threats to public safety. Conditions of release must take financial 
means into account and be the least burdensome means possible to ensure that the person returns to 
court. This would lead to a significant decrease in the incarcerated population.  

Close the Workhouse 
Mayor Krewson can direct the closure of the Workhouse. The Workhouse is controlled and operated by 
the City of St. Louis. As the political leader of St. Louis, she controls the jail through the Department of 
Public Safety and can choose to immediately close the jail.

Decline to prosecute and criminalize individuals  

 

The Circuit Attorney’s Office should decline prosecutions of victimless and poverty-related offenses and 
divert those individuals towards health, economic, and treatment opportunities. This would lead to a 
significant decrease in the incarcerated population in St. Louis. The Office must also dismiss similar 
pending charges. Decisions not to prosecute should be categorical and not based on an individual’s 
criminal background. Where the Circuit Attorney’s office decides to prosecute an individual, they 
should prioritize their entry into pre-plea diversion programs and work with individuals to address 
underlying issues such as housing insecurity or substance abuse that can lead to continued interactions 
with the criminal legal system. 

 

Reinvest money from arrest-and-incarcerate to community well-being  

 

The City of St. Louis should reinvest the $16 million it currently spends to operate the Workhouse. The 
St. Louis Board of Aldermen, along with the Mayor, should vote to fund initiatives that improve public 
safety through a focus on community well-being instead of police and incarceration, addressing the 
root causes of crime. Community well-being priorities should be defined through community 
participation in a participatory budgeting process.   
 
 

 

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OUR PARTNERS AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS  
 

This report reflects the leadership and experience of individuals inside and outside of the Workhouse who have 
been impacted by the systems we seek to change.  
 
The Close the Workhouse Campaign​​ ​is led by four core partners: Action St. Louis, ArchCity Defenders, the Bail 
Project, and MORE (Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment).  
 
Nearly 30 organizations across St. Louis have already signed on in support of the Campaign to Close the 
Workhouse. ​Please see the Close the Workhouse campaign website for the full list of campaign partners.  
 
We would like to thank the contributions of our research team coordinated by ArchCity Defenders​​. 
Research, data, and stories were compiled throughout 2018 and are on file at ArchCity Defenders.  
 
The report’s design, research, and drafting was led by ArchCity Defenders’ Staff Attorney ​Sima Atri​, with 
significant support from ArchCity Defenders’ 2018 summer interns including ​Luce Randall, Dara 
Jackson-Garrett, Sonya Levitova, Mara Roth, Leila Atri, Corri Mader, Andi Taverna, ​ and ​Amari Fennoy​ and 
ArchCity Defenders’ staff including ​Blake Strode, Jacki Langum, ​and​ Rebecca Gorley​.  
 
We would also like to thank our campaign partners for their contributions, including ​Montague Simmons, 
Michelle Higgins, Inez Bordeaux,​ ​Janos Marton ​and staff at the ​Advancement Project​. Graphic design 
support for the report from ​Young Kwon​ and ​Christina Isaiah​. We thank everyone who spoke with the 
research team and agreed to include their stories as examples of the marginalizing systems that exist in 
St. Louis, especially ​Jasmine Borden, Inez Bordeaux, Gerald Wortham​, and ​Diedre Wortham​.  
 
Thank you to our Black-owned union printshop: ​Pelican Printing. 
 

“Nobody’s free until everybody’s free.” - ​Fannie Lou Hamer 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
This report is produced by the Close the Workhouse Campaign. 
www.closetheworkhouse.org​ #closetheworkhouse 

 
 

 

 
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---------​​

​ ​CLOSE THE WORKHOUSE:​----------- - 
TABLE OF CONTENTS​ --------------- 
 

A Plan to Close the Workhouse, Decarcerate Our City, and Reinvest in Community Well-being  
 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

2

THE STORY OF THE WORKHOUSE 

7 

 

1. A History of Abuse  
2. Another Jail Beyond Reform 
3. Resistance and the Movement for Change 

THE PEOPLE HARMED BY THE WORKHOUSE 

11 

1. The People: In Profile 
2. The People: In Numbers  
3. The Disproportionate Impact of the Workhouse and Cycles of Incarceration 
on Black and Poor Communities 

WHY THE WORKHOUSE MUST CLOSE (​ and no new jail should replace it)  20 
1. The Workhouse must close due to Inhumane & Unconstitutional Conditions  
2. The Workhouse must close due to the Public Cost of Operating the Jail 
3. The Workhouse must close due to Unconstitutional Pretrial Bail Practices  

FROM ARREST & INCARCERATE TO COMMUNITY WELL-BEING 27 
1. St. Louis’s Current Approach to “Public Safety” is Not Working  
2. Investing in Community Well-Being: A New Vision 

THE PLAN TO CLOSE THE WORKHOUSE

31 

1. How St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson Can Close the Workhouse   
2. How St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner Can Close the Workhouse 
3. How the St. Louis Board of Aldermen Can Close the Workhouse 

39 

CALL TO ACTION

6   
 

 

----------THE STORY OF THE WORKHOUSE---------

 

 
The history of the Workhouse is a story of exploitation of the poor and communities of color. St. 
Louis’s first jail began as a literal Workhouse, serving as a labor camp and debtors’ prison in 
the 1800s. The modern Workhouse has a long, well-documented history of continued inhumane 
conditions and abuses. This report and campaign is grounded on years of documentation and 
mounting pressure through protests and lawsuits calling for change.  
 

-A HISTORY OF ABUSE- 

The history of the Workhouse is a story of the 
exploitation of already marginalized St. Louis 
communities. Over the years, there have been trails 
of evidence that document the inhumane living 
conditions, violence, and corruption in the 
Workhouse.2 The history of the Workhouse is 
grounded in St. Louis’s segregated history, 
disproportionately harming Black communities and 
notoriously caging and depriving the poor of 
freedom in the name of public safety through the 
criminal legal system. Since its inception, jails in St. 
Louis, including the Workhouse, have notoriously 
housed and harmed the poorest and most 
marginalized members of our community.  
 

1843: A ST. LOUIS CITY ORDINANCE  
ESTABLISHES THE WORKHOUSE.  

The first St. Louis Workhouse was established in 
1843,3 roughly twenty years after Missouri was 
granted statehood as a slave-holding Union State 
through the Missouri Compromise of 1820.  
The Workhouse was located in South St. Louis at 
the corner of Broadway and Meramec Street.4 At 
the original Workhouse–a debtors’ prison–the poor 
and destitute in St. Louis were sentenced to manual 
labor crushing limestone for city streets when 
unable to pay their fines.5 

Poverty was at the root of people’s incarceration:  
“The reason why these men are in chains in the St. Louis 
Workhouse is because they are poor. Probably many of 
them are innocent, but certainly every one is ‘broke’. 
There would be no more chance of a man with money 
having chains put on him in tWorkhouse than there 
would be a of a camel passing through the eye of a 
needle. Has it come to this–that poverty itself has become 
a crime?”7 (Post Dispatch, 1905)  

As the Missouri Historical Society writes: “All day long, 
inmates toiled making little stones out of big ones. 
Women were sentenced to the Workhouse right beside 
men, and in 1875 alone more than 1,100 women picked 
up their hammers and headed to the rock yards.”6 
 

This question continues to resound loudly in the jail’s 
current form 113 years later. The Workhouse largely 
serves as a cage for people waiting for trial and too 
poor to afford to pay for their freedom.8 

 

Headline from a 1905 Post-Dispatch Article Referencing the Workhouse

7   
 

 

.ANOTHER JAIL BEYOND REFORM. 
The current Workhouse was opened in 19669 and mirrored its historical roots as it continued to incarcerate 
those too poor to afford their freedom from the inhumane conditions. The Workhouse soon became the target of 
lawsuits and judicial interference due to the conditions in the jail: including inadequate sanitation, poor air 
quality and ventilation, and abuse by guards.10 Many of these same conditions continue today.11 The jail’s history 
provides one reason among many why the jail is beyond reform and must be closed. 

Image of the newly constructed Workhouse from 1966
(Photo from Post-Dispatch)

1966: CURRENT WORKHOUSE IS BUILT.   

Court ordered certain conditions- related reforms 
and capped the jail’s capacity at 228 prisoners. 

In 1966, the City moved the Workhouse from South 
Broadway to North St. Louis.12 This move to North 
St. Louis mimicked the racialized migration 
patterns of the mid-twentieth century in St. Louis, 
where white and richer communities moved 
toward South St. Louis and Black communities 
were segregated in Northern areas.13 The current 
structure sits on Hall Street.   

In 1982, after extending the conditions evaluation 
to the Workhouse, Eastern District of Missouri 
Federal Court Judge Clyde Cahill made a similar 
determination of the Workhouse’s inhumane 
conditions and ordered basic improvements to the 
facility and its offered services be made.15 

1990: A FEDERAL JUDGE HIGHLIGHTS THE JAIL’S 
SYSTEMIC EXPLOITATION OF THE POOR. 

1974: ST. LOUIS IS SUED FOR INHUMANE 
CONDITIONS AT THE ST. LOUIS CITY JAIL AND 
THE WORKHOUSE.  

In a scathing 1990 opinion, Judge Cahill described 
the systemic and disparate oppression promoted by 
the jail16 in response to the lawsuit brought against 
the City for the conditions at the Workhouse. He 
found that targeted police actions and an 
aggressive overuse of the criminal legal system 
resulted in the mass incarceration of Black men 
and the poor at the Workhouse.   

In 1974, individuals detained at the old City Jail on 
14th and Tucker brought a class action civil rights 
lawsuit against the City for inhumane conditions. In 
Tyler v. Percich, individuals detained described 
inoperative toilets, inadequate ventilation, 
inadequate lighting, and infestations of rats and 
insects. The jail was overcrowded and individuals 
were confined for 24 hours a day without 
recreational opportunities.14 

“Certain neighborhoods in St. Louis have become 
the target of intensive police activity. . . . These 
intrusive tactics, coupled with detention because 
of poverty, lead to a destruction of confidence in 
the criminal justice system.”17  

The Court found that the conditions at the City 
Jail violated the rights of those incarcerated 
guaranteed by the Eighth and Fourteenth 
Amendments to the Constitution. The judge 
ordered that the jail be closed. Upon appeal, the 

Judge Cahill noted the City courts’ and prosecutors’ 
frequent refusals to give low bonds or recognizance 
bonds for low-level offenses and drug offenses. The 

8   
 

 

refusal meant that they were using jail as the 
default which contributed to problems of 
overcrowding in the City jails.  
“Prisons and punishment alone cannot be the 
answer—there must be encouragement, 
assistance and above all, confidence in the 
fairness of the legal system. Mass detention for 
petty offenses now may give temporary relief but 
it only postpones the misery to come. 
Most of the persons now arrested for these 
drug-related offenses are young black men from 
North St. Louis. Their prospects are as bleak as 
their surroundings. . .While the racial 
connotations of this issue are seldom mentioned, 
they may, nonetheless, be a factor in the public’s 
perception of the drug problem. There are myths, 
which have been partially developed by the media, 
that only minorities are involved with drugs. The 
City’s prison population, nearly all black, 
perpetuates this misconception. The Court does 
not believe that racial identity is used as a factor 
in these matters; but nonetheless, because most 
blacks who are arrested are poor, they are more 
likely to be detained when denied recognizance.”18

Post-Dispatch article announcing the opening
of the City Justice Center in 2002

2009: ACLU RELEASES A SCATHING REPORT ON 
ABUSES IN THE WORKHOUSE.  
 
In light of continued inhumane conditions in St. 
Louis’s city jails, advocates continued to mount 
pressure for change. In 2009, the American Civil 
Liberties Union (“ACLU”) of Eastern Missouri 
released a report outlining rampant abuses, policy 
violations, overcrowding, negligence, staff assaults 
on individuals, systematic cover-up of incidents by 
staff and higher-ups, and squalid conditions inside 
of the Workhouse.22  

Decades after Tyler v. Percich, the inhumane 
conditions in the Workhouse bear a startling 
resemblance to the conditions found decades ago. 

2002: A NEW CITY JAIL IS BUILT ALONGSIDE THE 
WORKHOUSE.   
 
The City of St. Louis spent over $80 million dollars 
constructing the City Justice Center, the City’s new 
city jail.19 Although this "state-of-the-art" jail across 
from City Hall is plagued by a culture of violence 
and inhumane incarceration, the difference in the 
cost of design and construction alone reveals the 
deficiencies of the Workhouse. 
 
Adjusted for inflation, the difference in expenses 
between the two facilities is stark; today, the City 
Justice Center would cost around $111 Million to 
build while the Workhouse could be constructed for 
only $15 Million.20  
 
Despite pressure to decrease numbers of 
incarcerated people in St. Louis, in 2002, the City 
also completed an extension to the existing 
Workhouse complex and increased its capacity to 
1,222 beds.21  

2013: ABUSE BY WORKHOUSE GUARDS 
ESCALATES.
 
The Workhouse is infamous not only as a debtors’ 
prison and for its inhumane conditions, but also 
because of its documented history of violence by 
jail guards.23 For example: 
● In April 2013, seven guards were fired from 
the Workhouse for using excessive force 
against a detainee. This incident was only 
made public years later.24   
● In May 2013, the Department of Justice 
published a report classifying the Workhouse 
as a facility with a “high rate of staff sexual 
misconduct”. In a survey of 358 jails across the 
country, the Workhouse ranked third for 
reports of sexual misconduct by staff.25  
 

9   
 

 

●

In August 2013, two guards pled guilty to 
hosting fights among detainees after being 
caught on camera doing so.26 Individuals 
detained at the Workhouse reported 
“gladiator-style” fights where guards would 
take people out of their cells, into common 
areas, and force them to fight each other.27 

The rampant and varied abuses documented for 
over 100 years in St. 
Louis’s jails have life 
or death 
consequences for 
those incarcerated 
there.28 

 

 
 

RESISTANCE AND THE MOVEMENT FOR CHANGE- 
organized to raise $25,000 to free people held 
pretrial who could not afford to buy their freedom 
by paying bond.  

 
2017: PEOPLE DETAINED AT THE WORKHOUSE 
SUE THE CITY.

 
Individuals incarcerated at the Workhouse brought 
another class action civil rights suit around 
inhumane conditions at the jail.31 The lawsuit 
describes conditions amounting to “cruel and 
unusual” punishment and violations of the Eighth 
and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. 
Constitution. The lawsuit is ongoing as of this 
report’s publication. 

Protestors demand Workhouse closure during 2017 heat wave.

2017: A HEAT WAVE BRINGS PROTESTS AND 
DEMANDS TO CLOSE THE WORKHOUSE. 

 
2018: THE CLOSE THE WORKHOUSE CAMPAIGN 
Calls for change continued to mount, leading to 
LAUNCHES. 
large public calls for the jail’s closure amidst a heat 
 
wave in the summer of 2017.29 In July 2017, 
In 2018, individuals previously incarcerated at the 
temperatures reached a record high of 108 
30
Workhouse partnered with 
Fahrenheit. People inside 
community organizations, 
the jail could be heard 
legal advocates, and allies to 
screaming through the jail’s 
launch the Close the 
windows pleading for their 
Workhouse
campaign.32 The 
lives.   
campaign is intentionally 
 
grounded in the leadership of 
The St. Louis community 
people directly impacted by the 
organized a noise 
horrors of the Workhouse. The 
demonstration outside the 
campaign calls for a 
jail to show solidarity with 
permanent closure of the 
people inside the 
Workhouse, decarceration 
Workhouse. Activists called 
reforms so no new jail is built, 
on officials to close the 
and more equitable 
Workhouse. ArchCity 
investments of funds currently 
Defenders, Action St. Louis, 
used to operate the jail. 
Protestors rally at the Close the Workhouse
and Decarcerate St. Louis 
Campaign launch in July 2018

10   
 

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THE PEOPLE HARMED---- ----------- 
BY THE WORKHOUSE--------------- 

 

The Workhouse is a blight on the City of St. Louis and we are all worse off for allowing it to remain 
open. The Workhouse disproportionately impacts specific communities in St. Louis and mirrors the 
targeting of police arrest practices and other structurally marginalizing state institutions and 
practices. The vast majority of people at the Workhouse have not been convicted of any crime; are 
there because they have been targeted, over-charged and cannot afford to pay for their freedom; and 
most are Black men who lack representation. The Workhouse harms not only those incarcerated, but 
also their families and communities. 
The impact of even one day in the Workhouse can be devastating for someone’s life. While 
incarcerated, people lose their jobs, housing, and income, in addition to the immediate loss of one’s 
liberty. The following stories are from leaders of the Campaign to Close the Workhouse and depict 
some of the realities of the Workhouse.    

INEZ BORDEAUX: THE HOPELESSNESS OF THE WORKHOUSE
 
“I say all the time that the Workhouse is a hopeless place. When you first walk in you can feel the 
hopelessness. You can feel the desperation.” Inez Bordeaux is a St. Louis native, who ended up in the 
Workhouse awaiting a court hearing for allegedly violating probation. She was sentenced to probation but 
never assigned a probation officer and so did not report. In spring 2016, she was stopped while driving and 
arrested for failing to report to a non-existent 
probation officer, and transferred to the 
Workhouse. 
 
Inez’s bond was set at $25,000. She earned less 
than $1,000 per month. Unable to pay even 10% 
of her $25,000 bond, she spent 30 days in the 
Workhouse awaiting a probation violation 
hearing. During those 30 days, Inez describes the 
Workhouse as a hopeless place with black mold 
on the walls, stopped up toilets, holes in the 
ceiling, and rats running under cell doors. 
A mother of four, Inez was held in solitary 
confinement for the first three days in the 
Inez at a Close the Workhouse Campaign
Workhouse after being deemed a suicide risk. 
meeting in the summer of 2018
“The nurse she deemed me a suicide risk 
because I was upset and I was crying about 
being in jail. I was crying because I was separated from my children and devastated to be in the worst place 
possible.” Inez said. “And so they deemed me a suicide risk and they took me to the women’s pod and they took 
all my clothes away. They gave me a suicide smock and they left me in that room for three days.” 
Inez has twenty-years experience working as a Licensed Practical Nurse and knew better. “I know for a fact 
that when someone has mental health issues, if someone does have suicidal ideation, if someone is having 

11   
 

.. 

 

thoughts about harming themselves, you don’t lock them in a room for three days. You don’t.” 
Today, Inez continues to feel the impact of the Workhouse on her life. On what she lost while in the Workhouse, 
Inez said,“The time with my kids, the educational opportunities, the jobs, the money.” Because of her 
incarceration, Inez lost her nursing license and spent a year trying to get it back. She is working as a nurse again 
and back with her children. Now, she is committed to leading the movement to close the Workhouse. 
 

JASMINE BORDEN: THE DESTABILIZATION OF FAMILY LIFE
AND THWARTED DREAMS

 
Jasmine Borden moved to St. Louis in hopes of a better life for her and her four children. Her sister told 
her that St. Louis would offer her better opportunities than she had in Sacramento, California, where she was 
born and raised. Her life in St. Louis was going well—she had a job, her kids were in daycare, she had a house 
she liked, a landlord she got along with, and she had even bought a car so that she could pick up some extra 
shifts at work. Jasmine said, “I was living the American Dream when out of nowhere my life just changed. It 
changed all because I got arrested while driving.”  
 
In the summer of 2017, police arrested Jasmine after she got into a car accident. Her bond was set at $10,000 and 
the judge ordered that it must be paid in full with cash in order for her to be released. On that day, Jasmine 
remembers thinking, “I don't have $10,000 just saved away in an account somewhere. So, that that was the 
scariest thing because I realized, ‘How long do I have to wait to make this bond? How can I make this bond? 
Who is going to post this bond? When is my next court date?’” Jasmine realized that to fight her charge meant 
she would remain incarcerated. 

“I was living the American Dream … It changed all 
because I got arrested.” 

 

 
  
Jasmine describes the Workhouse as a place unfit for any human being. “The conditions that you’re living in: 
the mold, the rats, the recycled air. You can’t even go outside and get fresh air,” Jasmine said.  
 
When Jasmine finally obtained free representation with the Public Defenders’ office two months later, her 
lawyer argued a bond reduction motion. The judge reset her bond to 10% cash on a $5,000 bond; the community 
could pay the $500 bond so she could escape the Workhouse. 
 
While she was incarcerated, Jasmine lost her income leading to her losing her 
housing and many of her belongings. She was also separated from her children 
who were bounced around homes, living with her relatives. Jasmine’s harrowing 
experience at the Workhouse has had a long-term effect on her life, impacting 
her mental health, and leaving her concerned about the residual emotional 
distress her children might experience from the family’s separation. Though 
Jasmine has worked hard to successfully rebuild her life after her incarceration, 
she still lives in constant fear that everything may fall apart again. “The 
Workhouse has changed my life so dramatically. I'm still a part of it because at 
any time anything I do can end me up back there.” 
  

 

12   
 

. 
. 

 

GERALD WORTHAM: A NEARLY FATAL INCARCERATION IN THE.
WORKHOUSE AND THE PROFITEERING SUPERVISION SYSTEM

. 
. 

Gerald Wortham’s experiences in the Workhouse were not only emotionally devastating, but nearly fatal. 
Gerald was arrested in May 2017 and brought to the Workhouse. Gerald suffers from sickle cell anemia, a 
genetic blood disorder that can cause severe medical complications and a disease that disproportionately 
impacts Black people. The conditions at the Workhouse exacerbated the symptoms of Gerald’s illness and the 
inadequate medical care offered him no treatment. The jail’s excessive heat left him dangerously dehydrated. 
The exposure to dirt, black mold, and biological contaminants in the Workhouse from rats and mice worsened 
Gerald’s breathing problems and increased his oxygen deprivation.  
Gerald felt his health deteriorating and asked to visit the nurse. The nurse took his vitals and assured a 
distressed Gerald that he was okay. Gerald was sent back to his cell where he sat suffering for another four days. 
Corrections officers refused to provide Gerald with his needed medications for his sickle cell anemia and 
instead laughed at his pain. On his fifth day at the Workhouse, Gerald fell unconscious in a chair while he was 
waiting to eat. “I was only in there for 5 days and I was losing my life.” 

 
“I was only [in the Workhouse] for five days 
and I was losing my life.” 
 
Gerald said, “I was suffering for 5 days and it took like a head nurse to actually 
look up my medical records and see that I didn't belong in there.” It was only 
then that Gerald was transported to the hospital and, on that same day, he was 
able to pay his bond and was freed from St. Louis’s custody. “I feel like I saved 
my own life by paying for my freedom.” He was released directly to the hospital. 
One condition of his bond required Gerald to report to a private supervision 
company at a cost of $300 per month. Gerald cannot afford this and risks being 
re-arrested and returned to the Workhouse, where he fears he could be the jail’s 
latest death statistic.  
 
 
“It seems that the
inhumane conditions
are getting worse. This
jail should have been
shut down by now. This
is something I wouldn’t
wish on anyone.”

“I have suffered greatly while
incarcerated at the Workhouse.
My mental health was heavily
impacted and my family has yet
to recover from the devastation
that followed my incarceration
at the facility.”

“There is no panic button in case
of emergency in our cells. The
officers are supposed to check
on the cells, but they only come
if someone screams through the
bottom of the door and they hear.”

13   
 

 

THE PEOPLE IN NUMBERS: WHO IS INCARCERATED?  
It is difficult to get complete demographic, bond, charge, and case disposition data from the City of St. Louis. The 
City selectively releases data in a way that helps it justify its arrest-and-incarcerate model and the lack of 
transparency has made it difficult for many groups to organize around different approaches. We obtained data 
that provides a snapshot of the reality of the Workhouse, in numbers, from March 2018.  

 
This section breaks down the demographics of those in the Workhouse, their charges, and their average 
bond amounts. 
 
 

 
 

50

Percentage

40
30
20
10
0

21 and Under	
	21
22-31
22-31	32-41	42-51	52-61	62-71
32-41
42-51
52-61
62-71

Age Range

Age demographics of individuals incarcerated
at the Workhouse (City Population Data, 2018)

Race and Sex of People at the Workhouse
1250
Number of People Incarcerated

 
 
 
 

Ages of People at the Workhouse

The bar graph to the right shows the age range of 
those detained at the Workhouse. Notably, 70% of 
those detained are between 22 and 41 years old, a 
time when many adults have many family and 
financial responsibilities.33  
 
Taking into account the data from the graph below, 
incarcerating mostly young Black men during these 
formative years destabilizes Black communities and 
families, shifting a huge economic burden to Black 
women and other family members who are working 
and raising children. It also impacts opportunities 
available to individuals at the start of their adult 
lives.  

1000

750

500

250

0

	

Black Men	
Men

White Men	
Men

Black Women	
Women

White Women

Race and Sex Information of People at the
Workhouse (City Population Data, 2018)

 

 

14   
 

 
 
 
The City of St. Louis is 49% Black,34 but the 
incarcerated population of the Workhouse is 89% 
Black.35  
 
Black men constitute the overwhelming majority 
of people incarcerated at the Workhouse due to the 
targeting of Black communities for low-level 
crimes. This is due both to systemic racism in the 
policing and criminal legal system and social 
marginalization that has pushed Black 
communities into poverty. The St. Louis 
Metropolitan Police Department overpolices Black 
neighborhoods for low-level traffic infractions36 
and criminal issues causing these communities to 
be trapped in a cycle of warrants, fees and fines, 
incarceration, and state surveillance.37  
 

 

 

 

THE PEOPLE IN NUMBERS: WHAT THEY ARE CHARGED WITH?  
 
Understanding the background criminal charge justification for people’s incarceration is important, but should not 
be determinative of their treatment nor representative of their experience at the Workhouse. An evaluation of what 
people are charged with at the Workhouse demonstrates that the vast majority of people are detained pretrial 
despite the fact that they are charged only with non-serious and non-dangerous crimes. 
 

Flags:   

Why People are Incarcerated at the Workhouse

 

● The vast majority of people at the 
FELONY
Workhouse have only been charged (not 
38
convicted) of a crime.   
● Charging decisions are made solely by the 
MISDEMEANOR
Circuit Attorney’s Office and often based 
only on facts provided by the police on 
ORDINANCE
police reports. Even the Circuit Attorney’s 
Office has admitted to the uncredible nature 
PAROLE VIOLATION
of some of these reports.39  
W/PENDING CHARGES
● Many of these charges will be dismissed or 
amended.  
TECHNICAL PROBATION
VIOLATION ONLY
● Charge information may reflect a practice of 
overcharging by prosecutors’ offices 
PROBATION VIOLATION
W/PENDING CHARGES
pressuring individuals to plead.  
● Charge information reflects a broader 
	 0	
0
50
50	100	150	200	250	300	
100
150
200
250
300
350+
classification issue in Missouri where 
	
PRETRIAL
PRETRIAL	CONFINED
CONFINED
non-serious charges are over-classified as 
Graph depicting the legal justification for an individual’s incarceration
felonies as opposed to misdemeanors in 
at the Workhouse (based on City Population data from 2018).
other states.   
● When discussing the criminal legal system, 
most people default to speaking in the language of the state. In this report, we do not use terms such as 
“inmate”, “criminal”, or “offender” because these words reduce a person to a one-dimensional identity, 
framed only as a threat, while removing the context of their situation, history, and role in the community. 
The people in the Workhouse are members of communities, neighbors, friends, and family.   
 

A Breakdown of what People are Charged with at the Workhouse  
 

Our Classification of Charges

Serious Charges
Less Serious
Charges

A graph illustrating a different
categorization for charges of individuals
incarcerated at the Workhouse.
(based on March 2018 data on file
at ArchCity Defenders)

It is important that we re-examine our classification of charges in 
order to better understand what people are charged with and how 
the classification of crimes and charging decisions are used to justify 
pretrial detention.  
 
This chart and the categories defined by the Close the Workhouse team 
help us re-examine what constitutes a threat to public safety based on 
the seriousness of the crime charged. 
 
For the purposes of this chart, we defined less serious charges as all 
misdemeanors, drug-related charges, resisting arrest, and poverty 
crimes, such as stealing small amounts or being unable to afford 
child support. For serious offenses we included all charges that 
involved violence or would be in any way threatening to a 
community’s safety.  

15   
 

 

 

HOW ARE CRIMES CATEGORIZED BY THE CITY  
 
 
 
In Missouri, state crimes can be 
categorized as felonies or 
misdemeanors. Missouri law 
categorizes many more crimes as 
felonies than other states. There are 
five categories of felonies that 
range from Felony A to E and may 
include a sentence of at least one 
year. There are five categories of 
misdemeanors (Misdemeanor A 
through D and unclassified) and 
individuals can be sentenced with 
up to one year in jail and/or fines.40 
 
  

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

16   
 

 

 

THE PEOPLE IN NUMBERS: WHY PEOPLE REMAIN INCARCERATED 
PRETRIAL & BAIL PRACTICES IN ST. LOUIS? 
 
Over 95% of people at the Workhouse have not been convicted of any crime and remain incarcerated only because 
they are too poor to pay for their freedom. The median bond at the Workhouse is a staggering and unaffordable 
$25,000 due to the unconstitutional bail setting practices in St. Louis. A very small number of individuals at the 
Workhouse are released on their own promise to return. They are instead incarcerated without any justification 
and at great cost to their communities and taxpayers. 

 
Bond practices in St. Louis are falling far behind the progress being made in other large cities. 

 
For exa mple, only a very sma ll number of people in St. Louis a re relea sed ba sed on their own promise to 
a ppea r in court —a policy successfully ca rried out in other cities a cross the country. The va st ma jority 
(96%) must pay for their relea se from ja il. This is compa red to only 15% in Wa shington, D.C., 40% in New 
York City, a nd 60% in Phila delphia .  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Graphs Depicting Comparative Rates of Release
St. Louis

New York City

Philadelphia

Washington, D.C.
15.0%

39.8%

40.0%
60.0%

60.2%

 
96.0%
 
 
 
Bail Set
 
Released Only on Promise to Appear
 
 
Not only are the vast majority of people in St. Louis custody 
incarcerated on bond, but bond amounts are much higher 
in St. Louis. 

 

85.0%

Average Bond Set
Total

Felony

For exa mple, the a vera ge bond a mount is $35,000 
Misdemeanor
($17,000 for misdemea nors a nd $37,000 for felonies). 
This is compared to average bond amounts under $10,000 
in New York City41 and much lower amounts in St. Louis 
	 $0.00
$0.00	 $10,000.00
$10,000.00	$20,000.00	$30,000.00
$20,000.00
$30,000.00
County. The discrepancies are more clear when comparing 
Graph depicting the average bond amount for
specific bond amounts for charges between St. Louis City 
individuals incarcerated at the Workhouse (based on
and St. Louis County. In the city, the average bond amount 
March 2018 data on file at ArchCity Defenders)
for the charge of unlawful possession of a firearm is 
unofficially automatically set at $30,000 compared to in the 
WHAT IS A BOND?
county where it is set at an average of $8,417.42  
 
After an individual is arrested, a judge has
However, cash bond is not the only way to condition release. Other 
the ability to choose whether to release
courts and other states use other types of “conditions” of release. These 
them on promise that they will appear at
their next court date or, alternatively, to
include “signature bonds” where an individual may be released based 
set an amount of money (called bond OR
on a promise under oath to appear, “property bonds”, or through loans 
bail used interchangeably in St. Louis) that
from bail bond companies who then pay a portion of the bond in 
someone must pay in order to be released
exchange for the person’s release. 
while their case advances. If they cannot
post their bond, they remain incarcerated.

17   
 

 

THE DISPROPORTIONATE IMPACT OF THE WORKHOUSE  
& CYCLES OF INCARCERATION ON BLACK AND POOR COMMUNITIES  
 

The Workhouse disproportionately impacts poor and Black communities in St. Louis adding to 
and mirroring the various forms of systemic oppression that people from these communities 
already face.  
“The prison therefore functions ideologically as an abstract site into which undesirables are deposited, 
relieving us of the responsibility of thinking about the real issues afflicting those communities from which 
prisoners are drawn in such disproportionate numbers.” 
Angela Y. Davis, Are Prisons Obsolete? 
The conditions of incarceration at the Workhouse unequally impact the citizens of St. Louis. As the data presented in 
“The People: In Numbers” demonstrates, Black and poor residents make up a disproportionate number of those 
incarcerated in the Workhouse. The class and racial disparities present in the Workhouse do not exist in isolation. 
Those communities disproportionately impacted by the Workhouse are also those targeted and impacted by other 
forms of structural inequality in St. Louis. The Workhouse is just one piece in of a larger system of oppression faced 
by poor Black communities in St. Louis. 

Poverty
Poverty Level
Level

9%

Whites
Whites

31%

African
Americans
Americans

Image illustrating the disparity
between Black and White poverty in St.
Louis City and County: Percent living
below the poverty line.
(Graph from the For the Sake of All report).
 

The Workhouse impacts Black people 
disadvantaged by historic and 
continued marginalization and 
segregation. 

communities. At the same time, many white 
families, and their tax dollars, moved from the city 
into segregated suburbs. Due to this “white flight”, 
businesses and banks continued to divest from 
Black communities. 

Historic and current government policies and 
practices impact St. Louis today, leaving the city 
segregated by class and race. Running East and 
West, Delmar Boulevard was previously one of the 
“red-lines” that systematically separated Black and 
white communities during the Jim Crow era.43  

St. Louis communities remained geographically 
segregated by race and black neighborhoods 
continued to struggle with lower home values, less 
wealth, a smaller tax base, and the resulting 
wide-ranging oppression.44 For example, Black 
communities in North St. Louis face higher rates of 
poverty, lower educational outcomes, fewer 
employment opportunities, poorer health, and 
higher rates of incarceration.45 These historical 
patterns are exacerbated by government policies 
that continue to under-invest in Black community 
development; instead, offering only policing and 
incarceration as solutions.  

Several other prominent government policies 
ensured that white communities built wealth, while 
denying access to Black communities. For example, 
until the late 1960s, the Federal Housing 
Administration refused to provide government 
backed mortgages in Black neighborhoods. Because 
home ownership is the primary way that families 
build wealth, this policy contributed to a large and 
long-standing wealth gap between Black and white 

 

18   
 

 

Black communities in the Workhouse 
are also more likely to face systemic 
adversity in other facets of their lives, 
including: 

criminals and law enforcement efforts in 
poor Black communities have been 
incentivized. The police targeting of Black 
people continues today, especially in St. 
Louis, and these efforts result in the 
disproportionate incarceration of Black 
residents.48 
ż Individuals who are homeless are also 
targeted by the police and the criminal 
legal system, through policies that 
criminalize panhandling, loitering, and 
unlawful assembly.  
ż Individuals living with mental illness 
are overly represented in the 
Workhouse. Untrained Workhouse 
guards are often left to act as de facto 
mental healthcare providers.49 
Additionally, the conditions at the 
Workhouse can be so traumatic that 
they give rise to serious mental illness. 

Health: Inadequate investments lead to 
poor neighborhood conditions and a 
deficiency of resources that elsewhere 
promote good health in segregated regions. 
This leads to many fast food restaurants, 
few or no quality grocery stores, and 
adverse health outcomes for individuals 
living in segregated poor and Black 
communities.46 
Education: A lack of school funding and 
quality teaching staff leads to racialized 
disparities in educational performance and 
attainment in segregated poor and Black 
communities.47 
Policing and Incarceration: Since slavery, 
Black people have been branded as 

 

Incarceration, Unemployment, Education, and Arrest
Statistics in St. Louis City and St. Louis County
broken down by Race.
County
St. Louis County	

St. Louis City

Total Black
Population

23.2%

46.7%

Total White
Population

68.5%

43.5%

	

INCARCERATED POPULATION
Total Numbers: 2293 (County) 1300 (City)
Black

1264 (54%)

956 (74%)

White

1029 (44%)

336 (26%)

UNEMPLOYMENT STATUS For the POPULATION 16 and Over
Average: 9% (County) 14% (City)
Black

18%

26%

White

6%

6%

MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME
Black

$35,757

$21,931

White

$65,500

$49,192

HIGHEST LEVEL of EDUCATION ACHIEVED by those 25 and over
Black

46% High School or less; 54% College or more

White

27% High School or less; 73% College or more

STOPS, SEARCHES, ARRESTS by ST. LOUIS POLICE
Black

38% of Stops
44% of Searches
46% of Arrests

64% of Stops
73% of Searches
73% of Arrests

White

60% of Stops
54% of Searches
52% of Arrests

33% of Stops
26% of Searches
26% of Arrests

19   
 

 

------ -WHY THE WORKHOUSE MUST CLOSE--- ---- 
 
It is clear to those directly impacted by the Workhouse why it must close and why it cannot be 
remedied with a new jail. The abhorrent jail conditions, the high public cost of operating the 
facility, and its role in the unconstitutional and inhumane practice of pretrial incarceration 
because detainees are too poor to afford their freedom are three distinguishing reasons why 
the Workhouse must close.  
 

1. The Workhouse must close due to  
INHUMANE & UNCONSTITUTIONAL CONDITIONS 

Individuals incarcerated at the Workhouse describe consistent stories of abusive and unconstitutional 
conditions, dangerous temperatures, inadequate medical care, little to no mental health and drug 
addiction treatment, and abuse by guards. These conditions are well documented in the ACLU of Eastern 
Missouri’s 2009 report “Suffering in Silence”,50 and ArchCity Defenders’ 2017 civil rights lawsuit.51 The 
conditions in the Workhouse make it an inhumane facility that violates the constitutional and human 
rights of people incarcerated and it must be closed. 
 
 
Unsanitary and Dangerous Conditions 
“During
“Duringmy
mytime
time[in
[inthe
theWorkhouse],
Workhouse],
 
there
there was
wasmold
moldininthe
theshowers.
showers.
TheThe
food
food
The complaints outlining physical conditions at the 
Workhouse are consistent and vast. Detainees report 
was
was unbearable.
unbearable.I wouldn’t
I wouldn’t
feed
feed
it toit to
toilets, sinks, and showers that overflow, leak, or do not work 
altogether.52 They report bed bugs, rats, and rodents in the cells,  an animal.
animal.There
Therewere
wereroaches
roaches
and
and
rats.
rats.
dorms, and kitchen,53 as well as mold in the food and on the 
The
The staff
staffwere
werevery
veryunprofessional.
unprofessional.
They
They
walls.54 Detainees often cite the deterioration of the physical 
building detailing experiences of being rained on because of the 
would
in the
wouldpurposely
purposelyput
putenemies
enemies
in the
lack of window coverings, insects entering the building through 
55
openings, and ceilings caving in.   
same living
could
seesee
same
livingfacility
facilitysosothey
they
could
 
entertainment
entertainment ofofGladiators.”
Gladiators.”
The building conditions along with the lack of sanitation in the 
Workhouse cause detainees to experience a number of health 
	
–– Carl
CarlHill
Hill
issues. For example, mats and beds are not regularly sanitized, 
and vomit and fecal matter are found on surfaces where inmates 
are housed.56 Additionally, detainees are often denied access to bathing and regular hygiene procedures and 
products, including showering, clean uniforms, and towels.57 Coupled with poor air circulation, the conditions at 
the Workhouse produce a threatening air quality that has caused general breathing problems, asthma attacks 
and seizures among detainees.58 These conditions have also led to widespread staph infections that remain an 
ongoing problem.59 
The conditions of the building are non-compliant with St. Louis City Building Code, which states that 
buildings are not up to code if they are “unsafe, unsanitary or deficient because of inadequate...facilities, 
inadequate light and ventilation… or are otherwise dangerous to human life or the public welfare…”60 The 
Workhouse violates all of the conditions of this code and the code requires that non-compliant buildings be 
taken down, removed, or made safe. 
 

20   
 

 

Excessive Temperatures 
 
The temperatures inside the Workhouse 
reach dangerous extremes. People are 
confined to dormitories with brick walls and 
concrete floors year-round without regular 
temperature control.61 Some Workhouse 
dormitories have old, boarded-up windows 
preventing proper ventilation.62 Last summer alone 
temperatures climbed to 130 inside the building.63 
People detained at the Workhouse have suffered 
health complications from the dangerously high 
temperatures inside including dehydration, heat 
exhaustion, asthma attacks, and heat rashes.64 One 
detainee described sweating through five shirts in 
one day from the heat.65 

assaulted a detainee at the Workhouse. The 
assault was in retaliation for a prior incident 
involving the detainee.69 In one case documented 
by the ACLU, a corrections officer entered the cell 
of a 130-pound, 16-year-old detainee, stomped him, 
punched him, and kicked him in the face.70 In 
another incident officers punched, kicked, and beat 
detainees with billy clubs.71 
People detained at the Workhouse often complain 
of needless deployment of mace by corrections 
officers. One individual declares, “They spray mace 
and laugh about it. It seems as if it’s designed to 
create chaos in the dorms.”72 Detainees also 
complain of unnecessary use of force, especially 
mass punishment for the actions of one individual. 
“I’ve noticed that officers will often treat an inmate 
badly based on the behavior of some other inmates. 
Often we will get collectively punished because one 
inmate misbehaved.”73 

Detainees also report extreme cold in the winter, 
heaters in the dormitories that are never turned on, 
and inadequate blankets. One individual reports, 
“We were provided two thin sheets and one blanket 
in the wintertime, and it was never sufficient to 
keep us warm. Men would walk around the dorms 
in the daytime wearing their blankets because it 
was so cold.”66 

Inadequate or Nonexistent Medical Care  
 
Sick and injured detainees at the 
Workhouse receive slow and 
inadequate medical care. In 2015, a 
local CBS affiliate, KMOV, reported that 
one detainee struck his head in the shower and 
attempted to obtain medical treatment but was not 
given adequate medical care.74 Ultimately, he lost 
his hearing completely.75  
 
Similarly, individuals with chronic conditions are 
often denied the correct medication or denied 
medication entirely. One detainee with sickle cell 
anemia reported, “I was in so much pain...I thought 
I was going to die. When I finally saw the nurse...I 
explained to her that I get regular blood 
transfusions, and that my doctor gives me folic acid 
and serious medications to control my pain. She 
ignored me and I was given Tylenol two hours 
later."76 
 
Care is non-existent for individuals requiring 
drug addiction treatment despite the fact that so 
many individuals at the Workhouse are awaiting 
trial for drug-related charges.77 Many also report 
being in treatment prior to their arrest and losing 
access to this treatment due to their pretrial 
incarceration.78   
 
 
 

Abusive and Rampant Use of Solitary 
Confinement  
The Workhouse forces individuals into 
solitary confinement without a hearing. Individuals 
incarcerated at the Workhouse report that solitary 
confinement is used for a set of situations that 
range from serious medical and mental health 
conditions, disciplinary segregation, 
punishment for breaking a code of conduct, or 
retaliation for speaking out. Approximately 196 
people out of 1200 in St. Louis’s custody are 
incarcerated in administrative segregation.67 
Individuals in solitary confinement (also known as 
“the hole” or “administrative segregation”) are 
often only allowed out of their cells a few hours 
a week and restricted from accessing recreation 
facilities phone calls to their families and attorneys. 
In the summer of 2018, incarcerated individuals 
have reported that everyone incarcerated at the 
Workhouse spends their first few days in “the 
hole.”68  
Abuse and Assault by Jail Guards  
Correctional officers frequently assault and 
abuse Workhouse detainees. In 2015, the City 
of St. Louis fired seven officers after they 

21   
 

 

No Mental Healthcare  
 
There is no mental healthcare available to 
individuals incarcerated at the jail. The City has a 
contract with Corizon Health, Inc., to provide 
behavioral and mental healthcare services to 
people detained in St. Louis city jails—but people 
have to request treatment, and their requests for 
medication or access to a psychiatrist can be, and 
are often denied.79 Individuals incarcerated at the 
Workhouse testify to being denied their prescribed 
mental health medications. This flat rate payment 
system to Corizon ($3.7 million per year) 
incentivizes Corizon to cut corners with the care 
provided because Corizon keeps whatever they 
don’t spend.80 The contract puts the health interests 
of incarcerated people directly in conflict with the 
economic interests of the company contracted by 
the City to care for them.81 As a result, the 
Workhouse guards haved used solitary 
confinement to restrain individuals exhibiting 
serious mental health symptoms.  
 

Incarcerated people living with mental health 
conditions are at an increased risk of becoming 
victims of physical abuse, sexual assault, and 
suicide.82 They are also likely to remain 
incarcerated for longer periods of time than 
individuals who do not experience mental illness.83 
Inadequate mental health care can also be 
life-threatening. Over the course of nine months 
in 2000, seven people being held at the 
Workhouse committed suicide by hanging 
themselves in their cells.84 According to the 
Riverfront Times, guards were untrained in CPR and 
lacked the tools necessary to cut the sheets used for 
hanging.85 
No Grievance Process to Address Conditions 
It is very difficult for incarcerated individuals to 
file grievances or otherwise complain about their 
treatment at the jail. Although locked complaint 
boxes exist to file grievances, detainees continue to 
describe having to give their complaints to the 
same jail guards who abused them, and then facing 
retaliation by being placed on lockdown or in 
solitary confinement.86 One 
individual reports, “I filed a 
complaint and when the guard 
received it, the guard called the 
Lieutenant and said I had 
threatened him.”87 Detainees also 
describe how complaints almost 
always go unanswered. On detainee 
reports, “It is a waste of time to talk 
or file a grievance. I have never 
received an answer for any 
complaint.”88 
Complaints about conditions from 
Workhouse employees also go 
unanswered or are cause for 
retaliation. This year, a former 
Captain filed a lawsuit against St. 
Louis City and his superiors, 
claiming he was fired for 
complaining about conditions and 
encouraging those incarcerated to 
file grievances. The only witness to 
testify against the former Captain in 
a pre-termination hearing was St. 
Louis Corrections Commissioner, 
Dale Glass.89 
 

 

22   
 

 

 

2. The Workhouse must close due to 
THE PUBLIC COST OF OPERATING THE JAIL 
The City of St. Louis spends ​$16 million every year to operate the Workhouse. It costs $16,300 to incarcerate 
​ ​ ​By closing the Workhouse, St. Louis has an opportunity to create a permanent shift in the 
one person per year.​90​
way we think about public safety by reallocating investments into new solutions. Investing in the people of St. 
Louis, instead of policing and incarceration, will lift up individuals and communities that have been 
disproportionately impacted by the criminal legal system—and create a safer, more just St. Louis.  

St. Louis Spends the Majority of Its Budget on a Failed Arrest-and-Incarcerate 
Approach to Public Safety 
In recent years, the City of St. Louis has spent 
hundreds of millions of dollars on programs that 
fall under the category of “public safety.” In 2019, 
the City will devote ​$290 million, over half of its 
general fund,​​ ​to public safety​​. In contrast, the 
City of St. Louis will spend less than $1.6 million on 
human services. That means St. Louis will spend 
187 times ​more​ on public safety than what ​the 
Department of Human Services receives to provide 
the City with “social service programs to the aged, 
homeless, veterans, disabled, youth, and families in need.”  

This pie chart represents the
city’s general fund in 2019.
This tiny white sliver represents
everything the city is going to
spend on human services in
2019 – less than $1.6 million, or
about 0.03% of the general fund.

70% of the money allocated for public safety is currently used for policing and incarceration.​​ In 2019, the 
St. Louis City police, their retirement fund, and the city’s jails will receive almost $208 million—over 70% of the 
$290 million earmarked for public safety. As of August 2018, residents in St. Louis voted to approve a $50 
million bond that provides additional money to this same arrest-and-incarcerate approach. The Board of 
Aldermen are able to re-allocate any funds earmarked for police or jails because it is General Fund money.  

We must reinvest in a new vision of public safety.  
Research shows that the arrest-and-incarcerate model does not make us safer ​(​see​ page 27):​91 
●
●

National increases in incarceration correspond with a roughly 0% decrease in crime.  
Increased law enforcement efforts have only resulted in the targeting of poor and Black communities 
for non-serious criminal violations without creating additional protection for communities.​92  

Instead of spending money on police and jails, we can use the $16 million ​to fund programs that build 
stronger communities and expand opportunities for all residents in St. Louis. This fundin​g could be re-allocated 
through the annual budget process and could fund (​see​ pages 28 through 30): 
 

 

Affordable housing

More equitable city programs, like equitable public
transportation, affordable and accessible child care and
expanded reentry wrap-around services.

 

Community-based mental healthcare
Economic and educational opportunities

Retraining for current Workhouse employees into
alternative City employment.
Neighborhood based community spaces open to all.

23   
 

 

3. The Workhouse must close due to  
UNCONSTITUTIONAL PRETRIAL BAIL PRACTICES  
Over 95% of the people incarcerated at the Workhouse are there pretrial, which means 
they have not been convicted of a crime. St. Louis incarcerates many more people pretrial 
than the national average.93  
There are many problems with the practice of keeping people incarcerated pretrial and cash bail in St. Louis: 
The process for setting bail is unconstitutional. 
Cash bail discriminates against the poor by keeping them in jail because they cannot afford to buy their 
freedom. 
Pretrial incarceration affects outcomes at trial and sentencing, in addition to consequences related to 
the loss of liberty including loss of income, separation from children, and loss of housing.  
 
St. Louis over-incarcerates pretrial 
detainees when compared to the 
state and national average  
In St. Louis, only 4% of people are 
released without bail, compared to 
85% in Washington D.C., 60% in New 
York City, and 40% in Philadelphia. 
On average, individuals incarcerated in 
St. Louis face approximately 291 days 
in detention.94 This is the second 
longest period of pretrial detention in 
the state, with the state average at 
191.95 St. Louis County’s average of 254 
days.96 
Long periods of pretrial detention stem 
from the incredibly high bail amounts 
set in St. Louis that prevent individuals 
from being able to afford their pretrial 
freedom. The median bail for an 
individual incarcerated pretrial at 
the Workhouse is $25,000, compared 
to an median bond amount of $10,000 
for felony cases across the country.97    
 

“Some
“Somepeople
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There are significant consequences to pretrial 
incarceration 
Individuals who are incarcerated pretrial, even if only for a 
few days, face many consequences that are similar to 
individuals sentenced to jail or prison time. Pretrial detention 
impacts an individual’s life far beyond their loss of liberty. 

24   
 

$500
$500 bonds
bondsbut
butstill
stillcouldn’t
couldn’t
make
make
it. it.
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rent!”
			

–– Jasmine
Jasmine Borden
Borden

 

Consequences of pretria l inca rcera tion include:  
Loss of income and wages because missing 
just one day of work can even result in 
someone losing their job; 
Loss of housing and missed payments on 
bills because individuals cannot work or pay bills while incarcerated;   
Restricted access to counsel because it is much more difficult to communicate with a lawyer from jail 
and nearly impossible to gather evidence; 
Loss of physical and/or legal custody of children; 
An increase of mental illness symptoms because conditions in jail can put an individual under a lot 
of stress and restrict access to needed 
medications, exacerbating or even causing 
mental illness;98  
Increased risk of sexual assault with 
rampant assault in St. Louis jails, especially 
in the first few days of incarceration;99  
Disparate results in criminal cases as 
individuals who remain incarcerated pretrial 
have a 13% increased chance of being found 
guilty, have a 21% increased chance they will 
plead guilty, are 4 times more likely to be 
sentenced to jail, and have 3 times longer jail 
sentences (an average of 4.6 months longer) 
than those free while waiting for their trial; 
and/or100   
Increased recidivism, or committing a 
future crime, as individuals incarcerated for 
any amount of time have much higher rates 
of committing crimes in the future.  
 

The process and practice of keeping individuals incarcerated pretrial 
violates the U.S. Constitution 
The process for setting bail in St. Louis:  
When someone is arrested in St. Louis, a City of St. Louis Bond Commissioner will recommend a bond amount 
they have to pay to be released from jail. This amount is based purely on 
the police’s reason for the individual’s arrest, as well as the individual’s past 
criminal record. It does not take into consideration an individual’s ties to 
the community, other evidence related to whether they are a public safety 
risk or whether the individual can afford the bond.  
Individuals who are incarcerated in St. Louis do not have a hearing where 
they can challenge their bond amount until they have an attorney who 
requests a hearing. Since most individuals who are arrested cannot afford a 
private attorney, if they cannot pay their bond they must wait in jail until 
the public defender decides whether to take their case, enters his or her 
appearance, and begins the representation, a process that usually takes 
four to six weeks.101 

25   
 

 

 

Bail setting practices as a violation of the U.S. Constitution and Missouri law: 
Under the U.S. Constitution, individuals have a right to pretrial liberty. This right means that a prosecutor 
should be required to argue that it is necessary for someone to remain incarcerated while awaiting trial because 
they are at risk to public safety or a flight risk. Instead, individuals in St. Louis must argue why they deserve to 
be released. This practice is unconstitutional. It is supposed to be the prosecutor’s burden to argue a reason for 
pretrial detention. Additionally, where bail is set so high that individuals cannot afford it, the prosecutor and 
judge are effectively imposing mandatory incarceration, which requires a much higher standard and specific 
due process requirements that must be met when 
imposed.102  
Under Missouri State Law and the State Constitution, 
a person should only be incarcerated pretrial when a 
court believes an individual will not attend court or that 
they are a risk to public safety.103 In fact, the Missouri 
Supreme Court demands that financial resources of the 
defendant be taken into account when setting the 
conditions of their release.104   
There are many proven alternatives to pretrial 
incarceration that ensure public safety and that 
individuals return to court, including reminders for 
court, and transportation and childcare while in court.  
 

26   
 

 

 

------​ ​FROM ARREST-AND-INCARCERATE TO​ ------ 
------------ ​ ​COMMUNITY WELL-BEING​------------- 
 

St. Louis’s current approach to public safety - arresting and incarcerating target 
communities - has failed. ​This section explains St. Louis’s current approach, why it is not 
working, and why it would be more effective to fund local programs that further a holistic 
notion of community well-being instead of policing and incarceration. 

 

ST. LOUIS’S CURRENT APPROACH TO “PUBLIC SAFETY” IS NOT WORKING 
 

St. Louis City Police gather in riot gear downtown in response to protests the
day Jason Stockley was acquitted for the murder of Anthony Lamar Smith.

 
St. Louis's current approach to “public safety” 
consists of spending hundreds of millions of dollars 
to fund an expansive and militarized police 
department and operate two jails.  
In 2019, the City plans to devote $290 million, 
over half of its general fund, to “public safety​​,” 
with 70% of that funding being used to pay for 
police and jails. 
 
The cost of the City’s current approach is especially 
problematic because it is ineffective in its goal of 
decreasing violent crime in communities. 
 
Since 2000, ​national increases in incarceration 
have corresponded with a roughly 0% decrease 
in crime. ​This means that almost 100% of crime 
reduction occurring after 2000 can be attributed to 
factors other than incarceration.​105 
 
In fact, ​increases in incarceration can instead 
increase crime rates​​. Researchers say that this 

 

27   
 

phenomenon can be attributed to the withering of 
economic and social ties that occurs when many 
individuals in a community become incarcerated. 
Similarly, incarcerated individuals lose social and 
economic capital (their skills, connections, and 
resources), which makes it very difficult to re-enter 
society upon release and can make them more 
likely to commit a crime.​106  
 
Local policing approaches like broken windows 
policing and “hot spot policing” are ineffective at 
addressing violent crime. These policies have led to 
the over-policing of already marginalized 
communities without also increasing safety.​107 
Statistics reveal drastic disparities in interactions 
with the police by race, likely resulting from 
implicit biases and stereotypes of “criminality”. For 
example, Black people in St. Louis are 85% more 
likely to be searched by the police even though they 
are 20% less likely than their white counterparts to 
be found carrying contraband.​108​ These practices do 
more to support existing racial and socioeconomic 
hierarchies than they do to promote the safety of 
the St. Louis community 
 
Considering the history 
and design of policing in 
the St. Louis and in the U. 
S., ​we affirm the 
importance of grounding 
approaches to public 
safety outside of policing 
and jails and focused on 
preventative solutions 
that address the root 
causes of community 
instability and crime.

 

INVESTING IN COMMUNITY WELL-BEING: A​ NEW VISION​.    
The City of St. Louis needs to rethink its conception of public safety away from an 
arrest-and-incarcerate model and into programs that promote community well-being for the 
sake of increasing safety in St. Louis. Funding for these programs could easily be redirected as 
it all comes from the City’s General Fund.   
 
In 2019, the City of St. Louis plans to 
spend less than $1.6 million providing 
residents with human services. Compare 
this to the over $200 million the City has 
set aside to fund arresting and 
incarcerating people. 
 
A new integrated approach to public 
safety will require the promotion of 
community well-being and increased 
investment in both individuals and 
communities​​. This approach would 
require the City to prioritize alternatives 
to incarceration like substance-use treatment programs, expanded education and employment opportunities, 
improved access to health and mental health services, and increased affordable, stable housing 
options—especially for marginalized communities. This approach would allow St. Louis to begin to address the 
underlying issues that cause crime, like economic insecurity and addiction, while limiting the consequences of 
incarceration.​ ​We will also work with the city to develop community-based approaches to reducing 
violence ​at the community level, through approaches like what Critical Resistance ‘s Power Project is 
developing in Oakland, California​. 
Passing the annual budget requires the input of everycity department and the approval of the Board of Estimate 
and Apportionment (comprised of the Mayor, Comptroller, 
and President of the Board of Aldermen) and the Board of 
Critical Resistance’s Power Project
Aldermen. The Board and the Mayor are accountable to 
(Oakland, California)
their constituents and can be influenced to change their 
The Power Project engages with and builds the
approach to public safety and what programs get funded.  
Many alternative approaches have been tried and 
successfully tested around the country and found to increase 
public safety through the promotion of community 
well-being instead of a reliance on arrests and incarceration.  
 

capacity of city residents to reduce community
violence without relying on law enforcement. This
is done by identifying current harms, amplifying
existing resources, and developing new practices
that do not rely on policing or law enforcement.

FUND THIS INSTEAD​: 
​AFFORDABLE HOUSING  

 
Investing in stable housing will help St. Louis disrupt the City’s cycle of incarceration. Nationally, people 
without stable housing are more likely to become involved in the criminal legal system than their stably housed 
counterparts: 26% of people in jail report that they were homeless in the year prior to incarceration.​109 
Moreover, stable housing is one of the most important factors for successful reentry after incarceration. 
 
Unfortunately, current policy makes it more difficult for people with a history with the criminal legal system to 
find stable housing, as formerly incarcerated individuals can face subsidized housing restrictions, landlord 

28   
 

 

discrimination, or home loan restrictions. In addition, many existing supportive housing models, which offer 
housing and social services for homeless individuals, require people to submit to various kinds of treatment and 
graduate through a series of programs. Even if the client wants to comply, it is nearly impossible to do so 
without a stable place to live. Investing in affordable, supportive housing would minimize many people’s 
involvement with the criminal legal system.​110  
 
For example, ​St. Louis could divert current arrest-and-incarceration funding towards the St. Louis Affordable 
Housing Trust Fund. In 2001, ​Ord. 65132 ​§ 2, 2000 ​established St. Louis’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund,​111 
providing $26 million in grants over 2 years for groups working on low-income housing issues. In 2002, the 
Board of Aldermen voted to cut the funding by half.​112​ The City failed to enforce standards and funded projects 
repeatedly failed safety and accessibility inspections.​113​ The Board should properly fund and implement the 
Housing Trust Fund and could also create housing by ​converting the more than 7,100 abandoned structures.​114 
 

FUND THIS INSTEAD:  
COMMUNITY-BASED MENTAL HEALTHCARE 

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHT:

Office of Neighborhood Safety
(Richmond, California)

In Richmond, California, the Office of
Neighborhood Safety (ONS) is a non-law
enforcement agency that used trauma
and developmental based approaches
to reduce gun violence. ONS is tasked
with building partnerships with those
most at risk of being injured or killed
by gun violence. Using developmental
and trauma based approaches, the ONS’
work has led to a 71% reduction in gun
violence resulting in death or injury
since 2007 and 100% of the fellows in
their program are still alive.

 
People who experience mental illness are more likely to end up incarcerated 
than they are to receive medical care that will help them live safely.​115​ The 
right to health, both physical and mental, has been articulated in a number 
of international agreements, including the Constitution of the World Health 
Organization and the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human 
Rights. Unfortunately, not all communities have access to the care necessary 
to protect that right because of lacking affordable mental healthcare in St. 
Louis.​116 ​Instead of being community based and freely accessible to all, 
city-funded mental healthcare programs like the Women’s Circle Program 
and the Transition Center of St. Louis are run through the Circuit Attorney’s 
office where treatment is accompanied by the consequences of arrest, a 
criminal record, and the threat of incarceration.​117  
 

FUND THIS INSTEAD:  
NEIGHBORHOOD-BASED COMMUNITY SPACES 
THAT ARE OPEN TO ALL 

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHT:

Center for Women In Transition
The Center for Women In Transition
provides reentry support for individuals
leaving jails and prisons. They provide
individualized case-management and
after care programs to help individuals
move into independent housing, receive
subsidized mental healthcare and
substance-use treatment, and provide
mentorship. Last year, 85% of their
participants obtained employment and
77% have maintained employment for
over 3 months. The recidivism rate of
participants in the program is half the
statewide average.
See more information at www.cwitstl.org

 
Public spaces play an important role in bringing community members 
together and building stronger and safer neighborhoods. Reimagining 
public safety in St. Louis should include the development of free and 
accessible neighborhood-based community spaces in currently 
underserved areas.  
 
Participatory design is key to the successful development of 
community spaces: ​Residents’ sense of security in their own 
neighborhoods would be greatly improved by community-led and 
city-supported development of public parks, gardens, and community 
centers. Community spaces should have active programming, such as after 
school programs, job training, and community-wide events. To ensure the 
success of such spaces, it is important that community members are 
allowed and encouraged to take an active leadership role in managing and 
deciding the design and use of community spaces.  

29   
 

 

FUND THIS INSTEAD:  
ECONOMIC AND FUNDED EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES 
 
Instead of jailing people for poverty-related crimes, St. Louis City must invest in economic and funded 
educational opportunities for communities traditionally locked out of accessing these institutions of mobility, 
most notably, Black and poor communities. Black communities continue to experience much higher rates of 
unemployment.118 Unemployed individuals have higher rates of incarceration and involvement with the 
criminal legal system.119 In addition, being incarcerated can reduce a person’s future earnings by 40% and 
seriously impact their children’s educational and economic potential.120 Black communities also experience 
lower educational outcomes.121 This stems from the social, health, and economic challenges that students in 
underperforming schools face due largely to the funding models for education that rely on strong tax bases to 
support schools that are lacking in many Black-majority, low-income districts.122 
 
St. Louis can change these outcomes. When people are stably employed and can meet their families’ basic needs 
they are less likely to engage in certain types of criminal activity.123 Moreover, when people can access 
employment opportunities, they are more likely to be able to afford child support or other legally-mandated 
payments and can avoid being jailed for unpaid fines.124 For exa mple, the City could fund job training, summer 
youth jobs, improving public education opportunities, raising the minimum wage, and offering after-school 
programs. The City should also work to make fines proportionate to income and limit the consequences of 
unpaid fines, especially when lack of payment is due to an inability to pay.  
 

.FUND THIS INSTEAD:  
RE-TRAINING PROGRAMS FOR FORMER WORKHOUSE EMPLOYEES 

 
Individuals currently employed by the City of St. Louis at the Workhouse are working in inhumane conditions for 
little pay.125 When the Workhouse closes, the City of St. Louis must commit to the continued employment of 
current city employees and provide paid training so individuals may transition to other City jobs. 
 
St. Louis must a lso confront the dispa rity inherent in the segrega ted na ture of the City a nd the resulting 
inequities in a ccessing importa nt progra ms. To remedy this, the City could commit to: 

 
Expanding access to public 
transportation: 
Access to transportation is crucial to 
escaping poverty, but Missouri ranks 
46th among the 50 states in public 
transportation funding.126 In St. Louis 
City, areas of high job opportunities 
remain inaccessible to low income 
residents living outside the city center 
via Metrolink. This is compounded by 
the fact that many poor residents do 
not have a car127 or cannot drive due 
to license issues. Additionally, access 
to public transportation is unequal as 
stops for the Metrolink and buses are 
more frequent in higher-income 
areas.128  

Accessible reentry programs and the  Investing in affordable child care:  
promotion of pre-entry programming: 
Reentry programs are a crucial part of 
breaking the cycle of recidivism. The programs 
help people formerly incarcerated confront 
what can be insurmountable barriers—finding 
employment, securing stable housing, 
reuniting with their families, and maintaining 
the necessary contact with their probation or 
parole officers.129 Unfortunately, many reentry 
programs are limited in scope and restricted to 
people charged or convicted of specific crimes. 
St. Louis could also take the lessons learned 
from successful reentry programs and apply 
them “pre-entry” before individuals have to 
spend time incarcerated. 

 

30   
 

Access to affordable child care allows 
parents to find and maintain 
employment. However, in Missouri, child 
care is hard to find and costs an average 
of $1,101 per month.130 This is exorbitant 
considering someone making minimum 
wage makes only $1,250 per month. 
Low-income families in St. Louis need 
access to safe, reliable, and affordable 
child care. Moreover, creating affordable 
child care options will create new job 
opportunities and have a positive, 
long-term impact on the learning 
abilities of St. Louis children.131 

 

----- -THE PLAN TO CLOSE THE WORKHOUSE ----- 
 

 

Individuals incarcerated at the Workhouse (98% awaiting trial and the vast majority Black 
and poor) face hellish and unjustified conditions and incarceration. The Workhouse 
represents one facet of a broader system of criminalization and marginalization in St. Louis. 
This section of the report outlines a clear plan to change a part of this system. 
 
A permanent closure of the Workhouse requires action by the Mayor, the Circuit Attorney, 
a nd the Boa rd of Aldermen. There are clear steps that each can take: 

 

RELEASE INDIVIDUALS INCARCERATED PRETRIAL 

 

CLOSE THE WORKHOUSE  
DECLINE TO PROSECUTE AND CRIMINALIZE INDIVIDUALS 
REINVEST IN COMMUNITIES  

 
 

WHO CAN CLOSE THE WORKHOUSE? 
WHO 
 

St. Louis Mayor 

LYDA KREWSON 

 

St. Louis Circuit Attorney 

KIM GARDNER 

 

St. Louis 

BOARD OF ALDERMEN 

HOW 

Lyda Krewson has the authority as the Mayor of St. Louis to 
direct the immediate closure of the Workhouse. We are calling 
on her to do so immediately in collaboration with Public Safety 
Director Jimmie Edwards. The Mayor should also outline a new 
approach to public safety away from arrest-and-incarcerate 
models and shift City programmatic and budgetary priorities.   
Kim Gardner has the discretion and authority to choose which 
charges and cases are prosecuted. She should refuse to 
prosecute offenses that should be decriminalized, such as crimes 
of poverty or drug possession. She should expand pre-plea 
diversion programs to limit the consequences of the criminal 
legal system. She should also commit to a default of pretrial 
release and choose the least restrictive conditions of release 
possible, taking ability to pay into account.  
The Board of Aldermen can refuse to fund the Workhouse, 
effectively closing it. The Board has the authority to implement a 
new approach to public safety by reallocating general funds 
away from arrest-and-incarcerate programs and towards a set 
of community well-being programs including affordable housing 
and mental healthcare, and increased economic and educational 
opportunities. The Board should assure all current employees 
of the Workhouse alternative City employment and funded 
training to make this possible.  

 

31   
 

 

 

HOW ST. LOUIS’S MAYOR 

LYDA KREWSON CAN CLOSE THE 
WORKHOUSE 

 
As the Mayor of St. Louis, and the City’s Chief Executive Officer, Lyda Krewson has an 
obligation to define new priorities for the City of St. Louis, drawing from this plan and starting 
by immediately directing the closure of the Workhouse.  
 
 

 
FIRST: KREWSON SHOULD IMMEDIATELY ORDER THE CLOSURE OF THE WORKHOUSE.  
Historically, mayors have played an important role in closing city jails. Earlier this year, the mayor of 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, along with the prison commissioner, closed one of the oldest jails in the city.132 As 
part of the plan to close the jail, Philadelphia officials committed to developing programs and policies to 
decrease the city’s incarcerated population so that the city would not need to build a new jail.133  
 

“”What we have is a legacy of policies that disproportionately impact people along racial 

and economic lines. This is not an opinion, this is supported by stacks of numbers. This is 
institutional racism… we hold the opportunity to lead the way in making concrete 
changes to our laws and policies to change the status quo.„ 134 

Lyda Krewson  
 
Mayor Krewson can direct Public Safety Director Jimmie Edwards and City Corrections Commissioner 
Dale Glass to permanently close the Workhouse and work with the Board of Aldermen on re-defining St. 
Louis’s vision of public safety.135 In the same way that the City has the authority to establish and maintain a 
city jail, it can also close jails—there is no state law that prevents the City from doing so.136 The Mayor has the 
power to direct those overseeing and maintaining the operation of the Workhouse.137 
 
Mayor Krewson could alternatively introduce a Board Bill to close the Workhouse by requesting that the 
chairman of an Aldermanic committee sponsor such a bill—which could then become a city ordinance.138 
 
 
 
 
 

 

32   
 

 

 

SECOND: KREWSON MUST COLLABORATE WITH OTHER CITY OFFICIALS TO ENSURE CITY-WIDE 

IMPLEMENTATION OF DECARCERATION INITIATIVES AND A NEW APPROACH TO PUBLIC SAFETY.  

 
Jimmie Edwards, Director of Public Safety  
 
Mayor Krewson appointed Jimmie Edwards to be the Director of Public Safety, which means he 
oversees the Division of Corrections, including the operation of the Workhouse. Edwards plays a major 
role in Mayor Krewson’s administration and he should use his broad authority to advocate that 
resources be directed away from the Workhouse and toward community-informed programs, especially 
for underserved neighborhoods devastated by the City’s embrace of mass incarceration. He has stated, 
“good governance seeks out root causes for societal dysfunction, shows compassion when warranted, and 
works to improve opportunities for future generations.”139 Together, Krewson and Edwards are 
responsible for coordinating the closure of the Workhouse and setting new priorities for the City of St. 
Louis.  
 
The Mayor must work with Director Edwards (as well as the employees’ union and the Civil Service 
Commission) to ensure that all City employees working at the Workhouse are transitioned to alternative 
City employment. The Mayor and Public Safety Director should direct the City Corrections 
Commissioner Dale Glass to transition current Workhouse employees into alternative employment with 
the City. This may require new training based on the alternative programs developed as a part of a new 
approach to public safety. Funding should be reallocated from the operations of the Workhouse to train 
former Workhouse employees for these new positions.  
 
Dale Glass, City Corrections Commissioner  
 
As the City decarcerates and sets a process for the closure of the Workhouse, the Mayor must work with 
Dale Glass to ensure humane and constitutional conditions at the Workhouse.  
 
St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department 
 
 
The Mayor must work with the police department to reduce the number of arrests. The police 
department has the authority and discretion to issue ticket summonses rather than arrest individuals. 
In addition, the police department should focus on alternatives to the criminal legal system to address 
violence in communities, developing community policing models,140 while ultimately working towards a 
reduced reliance on police to address public safety needs. 
 
Bond Commissioner’s Office  

 

 
The Mayor must work to reform the City’s Bond Commissioner's Office. Currently, the Bond 
Commissioner engages with the state courts in unconstitutional practices of recommending bonds 
based solely on a person’s charges and criminal record. If the Bond Commissioner’s Office remains in 
operation, it must presume release and only call for the pretrial incarceration of individuals who are 
ultimately proven to be a public safety risk (see more on page 35). Instead, the Mayor should work with 
the Bond Commissioner’s Office to develop initiatives that facilitate attendance in court (for example, 
through text reminders, child care and transportation to and from court). 
 

 

 
33   

 

 

 

HOW ST. LOUIS’S CIRCUIT ATTORNEY  

KIM GARDNER CAN CLOSE THE WORKHOUSE 
FIRST: KIM GARDNER CAN DISMISS AND DEPRIORITIZE THE PROSECUTION OF VICTIMLESS CRIMES, CRIMES OF 

 

POVERTY, AND OTHER LOW-LEVEL OFFENSES. 

“The Circuit Attorney has unequalled and broad discretion in the 
criminal prosecution process–from whether to pursue criminal 
charges, to offer a plea deal, or recommendation for bail or 
sentencing. Throughout the entire prosecution process, the Circuit 
Kim Gardner 
Attorney exercises significant discretion.”
Kim Gardner is the lead prosecutor in the City of St. Louis and has the power to 
decline to prosecute certain offenses and to dismiss criminal charges.  
If Gardner declined to prosecute and dismissed low-level offenses, the 
Workhouse could immediately close. 
Incarcerating someone for a probation violation, a driving-related charge, low-level drug-related charges, 
crimes of poverty, and other victimless charges does not make our communities safer (see page 27). Rather, it 
results in a cycle of incarcerating poor people and communities of color. Racial profiling in policing means 
prosecutorial decisions target certain communities. Black people are 85% more likely to be stopped by police 
than white people although there are no statistics showing they are more likely to commit crimes. Nearly 
90% of the people incarcerated at the Workhouse are Black while just under half of City residents are Black. 
Remember: The relea se or non-inca rcera tion of 450 people a t the Workhouse (by dismissing cha rges or 
refusing to prosecute certa in cha rges) could sufficiently deca rcera te St. Louis to immedia tely close the 
Workhouse (see pa ge 32 a nd endnote 136). The table below demonstrates different offenses that the Circuit 
Attorney could choose not to prosecute and how many people would be released based on their charges. With the 
following top charges, today around 460 people would not be criminalized if the Circuit Attorney dismissed the 
following low-level charges, and the Workhouse could immediately be closed.   

Numbers of People Incarcerated at the Workhouse on Low-Level O�enses 

* based on data on file at ArchCity Defenders from March 2018 and St. Louis jail population data  

Individuals charged with only a technical probation violation 

A “technical probation violation” is a violation of a condition of probation (like reporting to 
one’s officer) and does not include people violated for being charged with a new offense.   

Individuals with a top charge that is Driving-Related 

This includes driving with an invalid license and leaving the scene of an accident, but not DUIs.  

107 
6 

Individuals with a top charge that is a low-level Drug-related charge 

109 

Individuals with a top charge that is a Poverty-Related charge  

107 

Other individuals with a top charge that is a Victimless charge 

137 

This includes the offenses of unlawful possession of a controlled substance including marijuana, 
or possession of drug paraphernalia. It does not include distribution of drugs.  
This includes the offenses of non-payment of child support, trespassing, stealing [but not stealing 
a car or a firearm], prostitution, damaging property, and receiving stolen property.  
This includes the offenses of unlawful possession of a gun, resisting arrest, perjury 

Total Individuals with a low-level top charge (who could be released)

466 

Individuals with a more serious top charge (who would not be released)

166 

34   
 

 

SECOND: KIM GARDNER CAN DECREASE THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE INCARCERATED PRETRIAL BY SUPPORTING 
PEOPLE’S RELEASE ON PROMISES TO APPEAR AND OTHER NON-RESTRICTIVE CONDITIONS. 

 
Although many major cities are reforming their bail practices and 
progressing towards justice and decarceration,141 St. Louis bail practices 
have been stagnant for years. Although most people at the Workhouse 
are not awaiting trial for serious charges (see chart on page 15), 
prosecutors and the City Bond 
Commissioner request bail for someone 
96% of people have to pay bail to be
to be released and only between 4% of 
released pretrial. The median bond for
people in St. Louis are ever offered 
someone at the Workhouse is $25,000.
release only on a promise to appear. 
The vast majority of people cannot afford
to pay the bond and stay incarcerated.
The bail that is ultimately set is 
unaffordable for the vast majority of 
The average length of stay for those
people, thus keeping people incarcerated 
innocent and awaiting trial in a St. Louis
until trial or until they plead. 
City jail in 291 days.
 
If rates of pretrial release were similar to 
other cities, like Philadelphia,142 this would result in the immediate 
release of 40% of people in St. Louis’s custody, or around 500 
people. This move alone would decarcerate sufficiently to close 
the Workhouse.  
 
Current bail practices in St. Louis are unconstitutional and violate Missouri 
law (see page 26).143 Pretrial incarceration also has serious consequences 
(see page 25). Studies show that those released pretrial have fewer 
guilty pleas, higher chances of dismissal and enrollment in 
diversion programs, and shorter sentences. 
 
Judges have the authority to order individuals released without 
conditions.144 The Circuit Attorney’s Office has the authority to 
request that an individual be released without bail and at the 
very least to consent to defendant's’ requests to be released on 
their own recognizance or to reduce their bond to an amount 
that is affordable.  
 
Instead, the Circuit Attorney’s office and their prosecutors 
actively oppose individuals’ release pretrial.145 It is a policy 
of the office for the prosecutor to argue to the judge that a 
defendant should remain locked up, and prosecutors contest 
every bond reduction motion.  
 

Released on Promise to Appear

 
“CONDITIONING RELEASE”: PROVIDE PRETRIAL SERVICES NOT SURVEILLANCE 

 
Cash bail should not be replaced by private supervision programs, like those currently operated by the 
private company EMASS. “Private supervision” programs use private companies to supervise individuals while 
they await trial. In St. Louis, the individual must pay the costs of the private supervision. The cost can be as high 
as $300 per month, which is unaffordable for many. Those programs put unnecessary financial burdens on 
communities targeted by the criminal legal system and often result in reincarceration for inability to pay.  
 

35   
 

 

The Close the Workhouse 
campaign does not support 
Electronic Home Detention. St. Louis currently has a contract with a private
company to provide Electronic Home Detention Programs that allow individuals to
replacing cash bail with any 
serve either some or all of their pretrial detention at home. These companies have an
type of invasive pretrial 
economic incentive to keep people in the most restrictive conditions for the longest
surveillance. ​Instead, the City 
period of time. In St. Louis the cost per day of electronic monitoring is $5-$8 per day;
should invest in services that 
that’s almost $3,000 for a year of monitoring.
help people overcome barriers 
Private Pretrial Supervision. Although we support supervised release, we
they face when appearing in 
do not support privatizing these conditioned release services. Many private pretrial
court. These services include 
supervision services are user-funded, which can result in a cycle of excessive fees,
text message reminders about 
debt, and poverty, even for those ultimately not found guilty of a crime.
upcoming dates, as well as 
Predictive Risk Assessment Technology. Risk assessment tools are
assistance with transportation, 
becoming increasingly popular across the country and they are used to decide who
and childcare. ​In New York 
can be set free before trial. The Campaign does not support using risk assessment tools
City, text message reminders 
because predictive analytics that use racially-skewed data and present their assessment
of upcoming court dates 
results as “race-neutral” are dangerous and likely to perpetuate a harmful cycle of overincarcerating communities of color.
reduced the number of people 
who miss their court date by 
​ ​ In D.C., 
almost 20% in 2017.146
​  
the court operates a Pretrial Services Corporation that is staffed 24/7 and 89% remain arrest-free.147
Other states connect individuals with pretrial treatment for drug and alcohol use disorders, or mental 
healthcare, and require mandatory court check-ins. 

THIRD​​:​ KIM GARDNER’S OFFICE CAN EXPAND THE AVAILABILITY AND USE OF PRE-PLEA DIVERSION WHEN 
SHE DECIDES THERE IS A NEED TO PROSECUTE A CHARGE.  
Diversion programs are designed to avoid a criminal conviction and record, but also to provide opportunities 
and programs to prevent individuals from being swept up into the criminal legal system’s cycle. Successful 
pre-plea diversion programs successfully connect individuals with important social service supports to reduce 
the collateral impacts that often occur after encounters with the criminal legal system. 
 
Pre-plea diversion should not replace solutions that decrease the total number of prosecutions. For example, in 
2015 individuals spent approximately 90,000 days incarcerated before their charges were ultimately dismissed. 
The prosecutor can always choose not to prosecute a charge and should make that decision before beginning to 
prosecute, not through dismissals or increased use of pre-plea diversion.  
 
​ ​ but they are very limited​​ with only 150 participants in 
Kim Gardner’s office has four diversion programs,​148​
over one year out of a total number of over 3000 filed prosecutions.​149​ All diversion programs must be expanded 
with an emphasis on pre-plea diversion.  

FOURTH:​​ K​ IM GARDNER CAN BE ACCOUNTABLE TO ST. LOUIS BY RELEASING INFORMATION ON THE 

CHARGING DECISIONS AND POLICIES MADE BY HER OFFICE. 

“As your next Circuit Attorney, my office will operate through transparency to enhance 
community trust, a critical ingredient to make our city safer.” ​Kim Gardner 

 
Transparency means the Circuit Attorney should: 
Release information on ​charges prosecuted​, ​cases dismissed​, and ​bail amounts​ in St. Louis;  

Release information on​ ​policies to decrease the incarcerated population​ in St. Louis (including bail 
practices, use of prosecutorial discretion, and increased use of summonses over arrests); and 

 

Quantify the ​cost of incarceration​ throughout the prosecution and sentencing process. At a bail or 
sentencing hearing, when prosecutors are calling for incarceration, this should be declared on the record. 

36   
 

 

HOW THE ST. LOUIS BOARD OF ALDERMEN 

CAN CLOSE THE WORKHOUSE 

 

 

FIRST: THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN CAN DIVEST FROM THE 

WORKHOUSE. 
 

The Board of Aldermen is charged with yearly approval of the 
City’s budget. This legislative “check” gives them the power to 
divest from the Workhouse. By refusing to fund the 
Workhouse, they can effectively close it. 

 

SECOND: THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN CAN PASS A 

Who Are the Board of Alderman?
The Board of Alderman is the legislative body of
the City of St. Louis. The Board creates, passes,
and amends local laws, as well as approves the
City’s budget every year. There are 28 Alderman
and each represent around 10,000 residents.
Louis Reed, the President of the Board, is the
second highest ranking city official directly
behind Mayor Krewson.

RESOLUTION COMMITTING TO CLOSING THE WORKHOUSE. 
 
In 1843, a City Ordinance was passed that established a Workhouse. Now, 175 years later, the Board could act 
again, this time to close the infamously hellish institution.  
 
As the legislative body of the City of St. Louis, the Board of Aldermen can pass a resolution endorsing the closure 
of the Workhouse. Board resolutions do not usually carry the force of law but would represent an important 
political step towards closing the Workhouse. 

 

THIRD: THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN MUST RE-ALLOCATE THE GENERAL FUND TO INVEST IN COMMUNITY 
WELL-BEING FOR ALL IN THE ST. LOUIS COMMUNITY.  

 
The Board of Aldermen has final say on the budget for the City of St. Louis. Instead of spending $16 million 
operating a decaying city jail and detaining people before trial, the Board can create a budget that prioritizes the 
well-being of the City’s residents. See page 38 and Section Investing in Community Well-Being.  
 
This budget should be created through a participatory budgeting process that involves communities in 
deciding how money is spent and on what priorities.150  
 
Reallocation of Funding Priorities:  
 
Areas for reallocation of funding include (See pages 28 to 30):  
● Affordable housing projects 
● Access to employment and education initiatives 
● Creation of neighborhood-based and open community spaces  
● Community mental healthcare   
Alternative employment and required employment training for City employees currently employed at 
the Workhouse. 
Local funding for the Public Defender’s Office so all individuals that require it can access free, quality, 
and timely counsel.   
The Board of Aldermen should reallocate funding from the recently passed $50 million bond away from 
permanent building renovations (like non-temporary air conditioning units).  
 

37   
 

 

Comparing City Budgets  
Ima gining city budgets before a nd a fter the closure of the Workhouse a nd a  
rea lloca tion of city funding towa rds a new a pproa ch to public sa fety 
 
 
 

 

St. Louis Budget – Now and Future
Figure depicting the current 2018 City
of St. Louis General Fund budget and
a possible re-envisioning of the St.
Louis budget. A precise reallocation of
funding should occur through a participatory budgeting process involving
communities impacted by the changes.

38   
 

 

-----

 

 

A CALL TO ACTION---- 

 
 
Wha t You Ca n Do to Help Close the Workhouse a nd Deca rcera te St. Louis: 
 

Follow our campaign! 
●
●
●
●
●

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @CloseWorkhouse 
Join our email list: closetheworkhouse@gmail.com 
Visit our website: www.closetheworkhouse.com 
Share our posts, events, and hashtags to spread the word 
Follow social media accounts of The Bail Project, Missourians Organizing for 
Reform and Empowerment, Action St. Louis, ArchCity Defenders, and others 

Wield your political influence 
●
●
●
●
●

Call Mayor Lyda Krewson, Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, and your Alderman 
to let them know that you support the campaign’s demands 
Engage local elected officials and candidates in conversations about where 
they stand on the campaign demands 
Demand transparency and accountability from your local police and jails 
Educate and mobilize your friends, family, and network 
Mobilize your network to attend campaign events and promote the campaign 

Organize your communities 
●
●
●
●

Organize and attend neighborhood meetings 
Host conversations with your friends and family about decarceration 
Engage your neighborhood in conversations about alternatives to calling the 
police 
Build alternative safety responses and structures in your community 

Support local organizations with decarceration initiatives  
●
●
●

 
 

Move your organization or network to endorse the campaign 
Join the campaign to help further campaign priorities 
Donate to the campaign and our partner organizations  

 

39   
 

- 

 

----- Sources

- ---

 
1.

2.

Movement for Black Lives, “End the War on Black People,” 
available at, 
https://policy.m4bl.org/end-war-on-black-people/. 

15.

Id. 

16.

Tyler v. United States, 737 F. Supp. 531 (E.D. Mo. 1990). 

Robert Patrick, Heat, mold, rats and spiders: Former 
workhouse inmates sue St. Louis over 'hellish' conditions, St. 
Louis Post-Dispatch (Nov. 13, 2017), available at 
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/heatmold-rats-and-spiders-former-workhouse-inmates-sue-st/art
icle_5860d97a-59b8-5485-9548-e4086be1d624.html; Danny 
Wicentowski, “This Place is Hell”: An Undercover Trip Inside 
St. Louis’ Workhouse, Riverfront Times (Aug. 7, 2017), 
available at 
https://www.riverfronttimes.com/newsblog/2017/08/07/thisplace-is-hell-an-undercover-trip-inside-st-louis-workhouse;  
Carolina Hidalgo, Activists launch campaign to close the 
Workhouse, reduce St. Louis jail population, St. Louis Public 
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http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/activists-launch-campaig
n-close-workhouse-reduce-st-louis-jail-population#stream/0.  

17.

Id. at 536.  

18.

Tyler v. Percich, No. 74-40-C (E.D. Mo. Oct. 15, 1974); Tyler 
v. United States, 737 F. Supp. 531 (E.D. Mo. 1990). 

19.

“City of St. Louis - Justice Center,” KWAME Building 
Group Inc., available at 
http://kwamebuildinggroup.com/wp-content/uploads/201
7/10/city-of-st.-louis-justice-center.pdf. 

20.

Missouri Historical Society, available at 
http://mohistory.org/collections/item/resource:157869?full
screen=1. 

21.

Cody et al., at 131.  

22.

In 2009 the ACLU released a report on conditions at St. 
Louis correctional facilities called “Suffering in Silence.” 
The report was the result of a two-year long investigation 
and based on accounts by correctional officers and 
people incarcerated at St. Louis City Jails documenting 
inhumane conditions. See, Redditt Hudson, Suffering in 
Silence: Human Rights Abuses in St. Louis Correctional 
Centers, American Civil Liberties Union of Eastern 
Missouri (March 2009), available at 
https://www.aclu-mo.org/sites/default/files/field_documen
ts/aclusufferingfullreport.pdf. 

23.

Id. at 6.   

24.

Jesse Bogen, Seven St. Louis jailers fired in excessive force 
case, St. Louis Post-Dispatch (May 16, 2015), available at 
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/se
ven-st-louis-jailers-fired-in-excessive-force-case/article_6d
332d3d-9cd7-53a0-9c5e-9ebac4bc72d6.html.  

25.

Allen Beck, Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails 
. ꜰJ ꜱ
, May 2013, 
Reported by Inmates, 2011-12, D
available at 
https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/svpjri1112.pdf 

26.

Robert Patrick, “Suit claims St. Louis workhouse inmates 
forced by guards to fight,” August 18, 2012. 
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/su
it-claims-st-louis-workhouse-inmates-forced-by-guards-to/
article_a8a6f0dc-1d0e-58f4-8c6e-b50fd7fc5b7d.html.  

27.

Id. 

28.

Deaths are recorded by the City in the Corrections 
Divisions’ monthly reports, available at 
https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/p
ublic-safety/corrections/documents/monthly-reports-20
18.cfm.   

29.

Doyle Murphy, St. Louis Workhouse Inmates Beg for 
Help from Blistering Heat, Riverfront Times (July 19, 
2017)https://www.riverfronttimes.com/newsblog/2017/
07/19/st-louis-workhouse-inmates-beg-for-help-from-bli
stering-heat. 

30.

First Am. Complaint, Cody et al. v. City of St. Louis, No. 
4:17-cv-2707-AGF (E.D. Mo. filed Jun. 4, 2018). 

3.

St. Louis City Workhouse Ordinance, 1843, available at 
https://books.google.com/books?id=Vf1BAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA4
78&lpg=PA478&dq=workhouse+st+louis+name&source=bl&
ots=2csRwzFuxw&sig=bOT36iPgI_fojGo3x5H_X24AEmg&hl=
en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjSutfjxqPVAhVHrFQKHQk1B504FB
DoAQggMAk#v=onepage&q=workhouse%20st%20louis%20
name&f=false. 

4.

Historical Photos for Courts and Jail, St. Louis Police 
Veterans Association, available at 
http://www.slpva.com/historic/saintlouifourcourts.html. 

5.

Harper Barnes, City's New $2,000,000 Workhouse Expected 
to be Completed, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 7, 1966. 

6.

Lauren Mitchell, ed., 10 Reasons the gilded age wasn’t so 
gilded, Missouri Historical Society, June 19, 2015, available a 
http://mohistory.org/blog/10-reasons-the-gilded-age-wasnt-s
o-gilded/.   

7.

A Friend of Prisoners (Anonymous author), Putting St. 
Louisans into Chains, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 16, 1905.  

8.

“Photos,” Missouri Historical Society, available at 
http://mohistory.org/collections/item/resource:157869?fullsc
reen=1.   

9.

Medium Security Institution: Information regarding the City’s 
Medium Security Institution, City of St. Louis Government, 
available at 
https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/publi
c-safety/corrections/medium-security-institution.cfm. 

10. Tyler v. Percich, No. 74-40-C (E.D. Mo. Oct. 15, 1974); Tyler v. 
United States, 737 F. Supp. 531 (E.D. Mo. 1990). 
11. Cody et al. v. City of St. Louis, No. 4:17-cv-2707 (E.D. Mo. Nov. 
13, 2017). 
12. See supra note 4. 
13. Colin Gordon, Mapping Decline: St. Louis and the Fate of the 
American City, http://mappingdecline.lib.uiowa.edu/map/ (last 
visited Sept. 12, 2018). 
14. Tyler v. Percich, No. 74-40-C (E.D. Mo. Oct. 15, 1974).  

40   
 

 

31.

Id.  

32.

See the Campaign website for more information at: 
http://www.closetheworkhouse.org. 

33.

afety/corrections/documents/upload/july-2018-reporting-of-sta
tistics.pdf  

Data for this graph was drawn from St. Louis City monthly 
reports. See, Commissioner Dale Glass, Monthly Report 
ꜰ S . 
January 2018 through Monthly Report July 2018, C
ꜱ, 
L
https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/publi
c-safety/corrections/documents/monthly-reports-2018.cfm  

50.

Hudson, “Suffering in Silence.”  

51.

Cody et al.  

52.

On file at ArchCity Defenders, 2018. 

53.

On file at ArchCity Defenders, 2018. 

54.

On file at ArchCity Defenders, 2018. 

34.

Id. 

55.

Cody et al. at 35. 

35.

Id. 

56.

Id. at 137. 

36.

Thomas Harvey et al., ArchCity Defenders: Municipal Courts 
White Paper (Nov. 2014) at pp. 17-19, available at 
http://www.archcitydefenders.org/wp-content/uploads/2014
/11/ArchCity-Defenders-Municipal-Courts-Whitepaper.pdf. 

57.

On file at ArchCity Defenders, 2018. 

58.

On file at ArchCity Defenders, 2018. 

59.

ACLU p. 14-15 (Tyler v. Perich, 14-15.) 

37.

Id. at 8-10.  

60.

St. Louis Revised Statutes Chapter 25.02, Section 116.1 

38.

98% of people at the workhouse are incarcerated pretrial. 
See Corrections Division, “Monthly Reports”, City of St. 
Louis, available at 
https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/publi
c-safety/corrections/documents/monthly-reports-2018.cfm.  

61.

Cody, et al.,. at 142. 

62.

Id. at 143. 

39.

40.

The Circuit Attorney announced an “exclusion list” based on 
the lack of “viability of [some police] reports.” (See Christine 
Byers, “St. Louis prosecutor says she will no longer accept 
cases from 28 city police officers,” August 31, 2018, 
“Complete Guide to Felonies in Missouri,” Carver, Cantin 
and Mynarich, LLC, 2017, 
https://carvercantin.com/felonies-in-missouri/; “Missouri 
Misdemeanor Guide - Class A, B, C, D Unclassified,” Carver, 
Cantin and Mynarich, LLC, 2017, 
https://carvercantin.com/missouri-misdemeanor/  

41.

Independent Commission chaired by The Hon. Jonathan 
Lippman, “A More Just New York City: Independent 
Commission on New York City Criminal Justice and 
Incarceration Reform,” March 2017, 
https://www.ncsc.org/~/media/C056A0513F0C4D34B779E875
CBD2472B.ashx. 

42.

J ꜱ
M ꜱꜱ
St. Louis County Jail Statistics, S
(2018), https://www.pickyourpa.org/jail-statistics/. 

63.

Id. at 15. 

64.

Id. at 150. 

65.

Id.  

66.

On file at ArchCity Defenders, 2018. 

67.

Corrections Division, “July 2018 Report”, City of St. 
Louis, available at 
https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/p
ublic-safety/corrections/documents/upload/JUNE-2018-R
EPORTING-OF-STATISTICS.pdf. 

68.

On file at ArchCity Defenders, 2018. 

69.

Elizabeth Eisele, “Seven corrections officers fired 
after allegedly beating inmate in retaliation,” 
KMOV.com, May 15, 2015, available at 
http://www.kmov.com/story/29079672/seven-correctio
ns-officers-fired-after-allegedly-beating-inmate-in-reta
liation; ACLU, “Suffering in Silence,” at 6; ACLU, Tyler 
v. Perch, at 6. 

70.

ACLU, “Suffering in Silence” at 6.  

71.

ACLU, “Suffering in Silence” at 11. 

72.

On file at ArchCity Defenders, 2018. 

73.

On file at ArchCity Defenders, 2018. 

74.

ACLU, “Suffering in Silence” at 13. 

75.

Id.  

 

43.

Colin Gordon, Mapping Decline: St. Louis and the Fate of the 
American City 86 (2009). 

44.

Infographic of Delmar Divide. See, Jason Purnell et al., For the 
Sake of All, Washington University in St. Louis (July 2015), 
available at  
https://forthesakeofall.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/FSOA_r
eport_2.pdf. 

45.

Id., 29.  

76.

On file at ArchCity Defenders, 2018. 

46.

Id., 32.  

77.

Cody et al.. 

47.

Lyndsie Marie Schultz, Inequitable Dispersion: Mapping the 
Distribution of Highly Qualified Teachers in St. Louis 
Metropolitan Elementary Schools, Education Police Archives, 
22 (2014) at 12. See also Purnell et al., supra note 44.  

78.

Id.  

79.

Bruce Rushton, “Unlucky Seven,” November 7, 2001, 
available at 
https://www.riverfronttimes.com/stlouis/unlucky-seve
n/Content?oid=2470082 . 

80.

“City of St. Louis - FY 2018 - 2019,” City of St. Louis, 
April 23, 2018, available at 
https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/
budget/documents/upload/FY19-Line-Item-Public-Safe

48.

49.

Stop Search and Hit Image from 
https://prezi.com/view/KG3Y8inXLjc6hV9Iup6v/ ; Incarceration 
image from For the Sake of All Report. 
Public Safety Commissioner Dale Glass, “Department of Public 
Safety St. Louis City Division of Correction: Monthly Report,” 
https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/public-s

41   
 

 

ty-to-BOA.pdf  
81.

82.

“When you combine the profit motive with limited 
oversight and an unpopular, politically powerless group 
like prisoners, it's a recipe for bad outcomes.” ACLU director 
of National Prison Project David Fathi. Corizon has been 
sued 660 times between 2011 and 2016 for malpractice. See, 
Simon McCormack, “Xavius Scullark-Johnson, Prisoner, Dies 
After He's Denied Health Care.” The Huffington Post, 26 June 
2012, 
https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/xavius-scullark-johnso
n-dead_n_1625547. 
Doris A. Fuller, Elizabeth Sinclair, et al., “Emptying the ‘New 
ASylums,’” Treatment Advocacy Center, January 2017, 
available at, 
http://www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org/storage/document
s/emptying-new-asylums.pdf  

83.

“Jailing People with Mental Illness,” National Alliance on 
Mental Illness, available at 
https://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Public-Policy/Jailing-Peo
ple-with-Mental-Illness 

84.

Jesse Bogen, “Seven St. Louis jailers fired in excessive force 
case,” May 16, 2015. 
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/seve
n-st-louis-jailers-fired-in-excessive-force-case/article_6d332d
3d-9cd7-53a0-9c5e-9ebac4bc72d6.html. 
Id. 

86.

On file at ArchCity Defenders, 2018. 

87.

On file at ArchCity Defenders, 2018. 

88.

On file at ArchCity Defenders, 2018. 

89.

Sarah Fenske, “Captain Was Fired After Complaining About 
Workhouse Conditions, Lawsuit Says,” Riverfront Times, Sept 
4, 2018, availalbe at 
https://www.riverfronttimes.com/newsblog/2018/09/04/captain
-was-fired-after-complaining-about-workhouse-conditions-law
suit-says. 

90.

Abhi Sivasailam, “Cost of a Missouri Inmate,” Show-Me 
Institute, January 20, 2011, 
https://showmeinstitute.org/blog/budget/cost-missouri-inmate 

91.

Don Steman, “The Prison Paradox: More Incarceration will not 
make us Safer,” Loyola eCommons, July 2017, 
https://ecommons.luc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1027&co
ntext=criminaljustice_facpubs. 

92.

Judy Greene, Marc Mauer, Ashley Nellis, “Reducing Racial 
Disparity in the Criminal Justice System. A Manual for 
Practitioners and Policymakers,” The Sentencing Project, 2008, 
https://www.sentencingproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/0
1/Reducing-Racial-Disparity-in-the-Criminal-Justice-System-AManual-for-Practitioners-and-Policymakers.pdf.  

94.

Christian Henrichson, “The Incarceration Trends Project,” 
Vera Institute of Justice, December, 15, 2015, 
http://trends.vera.org/rates/st-louis-city-mo?incarceration=rate
&incarcerationData=pretrial 
Andy Barbee, Grace Call, Rachael Druckhammer, and Ben 
Shelor, “Justice Reinvestment in Missouri,” Justice Center, 
November 28, 2017, available at 
https://csgjusticecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/MO-JR
-Pres-Nov-28-2017_FINAL_Updated.pdf  

95.

Id. at 18.  

96.

Id. 

The most recent analysis from the U.S. Department of 
Justice found that in the U.S., the median bail amount 
set for felony cases in 2009 was $10,000. See, Scott M. 
Stringer, “The Public Cost of Private Bail: A Proposal to 
Ban Bail Bonds in NYC,” Bureau of Policy and Research 
and Bureau of Budget, January 2018, available at 
https://comptroller.nyc.gov/wp-content/uploads/docume
nts/The_Public_Cost_of_Private_Bail.pdf.  

98.

Lorna Collier, “Incarceration Nation,” American 
Psychological Association, October, 2014, 
http://www.apa.org/monitor/2014/10/incarceration.aspx 

99.

Hudson, “Suffering in Silence: Human Rights Abuses in St. 
Louis Correctional Centers,” pg. 9, 12, 20, 21, 27. 

100. Megan Stevenson, "Distortion of justice: How the 
inability to pay bail affects case outcomes," University of 
Pennsylvania Law School, 2017. 

85.

93.

97.

101.

Editorial Board, “Low funding and large caseloads put 
Missouri’s public defenders at shar disadvantage,” St. 
Louis Post Dispatch, March 4, 2018, 
https://www.stltoday.com/opinion/editorial/editorial-l
ow-funding-and-large-caseloads-put-missouri-s-public
/article_3242c902-36a6-5cb6-994f-dd5a919b31bc.html. 

102.

Freedom from imprisonment has been recognized as 
a fundamental right protected by the due process 
clause of the 5th Amendment. Zadvydas v. Davis, 533 
U.S. 678, 690 (2001); Stack v. Boyle, 342 U.S. 1, 5 (1951). 
Government policies that interfere with fundamental 
rights receive strict scrutiny. Reno v. Flores, 507 U.S. 
292, 302 (1993). To pass strict scrutiny, the 
government must prove that it has a compelling 
interest in the goal at which the policy is aimed and 
that the policy is narrowly tailored to meet that goal. 
Id. In issuing cash bail, the government has a 
compelling interest in both public safety and ensuring 
the arrestee appears in court. United States v. Salerno, 
481 U.S. 739, 749 (1987). However, without 
individualized bail determinations, there is no way to 
prove that the individual presents a risk to public 
safety or a risk of not appearing in court. In addition, 
and especially where bail is set so high that it can be 
considered as an imposition of mandatory 
incarceration, the government must prove that this is 
the least restrictive means for ensuring that 
government interest. Bearden v. Georgia, 461 U.S. 660, 
672 (1983). For the vast majority of individuals 
incarcerated pretrial in St. Louis, clear alternatives 
exist to cash bail that still allow the government to 
ensure public safety and court appearance. 

103.

See Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 33.01(d). 

104.

“In determining which conditions of release will 
reasonably assure appearance, the court shall, take 
into account . . . the accused's . . . financial resources.” 
Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 33.01(e). 

105.

Don Stemen. The Prison Paradox: More Incarceration 
Will Not Make Us Safer. New York: Vera Institute of 
Justice, 2017. 

106.

Id. 

107.

Ethical Society of Police, “Comprehensive Evaluation 
of the SLMPD,” July 2016, 
https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stlto
day.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/2/6b/26b1b
d68-9647-5601-b037-fa97d6eb9e80/577ed5200647e.pdf

42   
 

 

.pdf. 
108.

Jail. Lose Job. Repeat,” New York Times, April 19, 2015, 
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/20/us/skip-child-support-g
o-to-jail-lose-job-repeat.html 

John Chasnoff, “Transforming Police Culture,” April 2018, 
available at: 
https://prezi.com/view/KG3Y8inXLjc6hV9Iup6v/. 

109.

“Advancing Vulnerable Population,” CSH, 2018, 
https://www.csh.org/csh-solutions/advancing-vulnerable-po
pulations/. 

110.

“Housing and Homelessness as a Public Health 
issue,”American Public Health Association, November 7, 
2017,https://www.apha.org/policies-and-advocacy/public-healt
h-policy-statements/policy-database/2018/01/18/housing-and-h
omelessness-as-a-public-health-issue. 

124.

Id. 

125.

City employees working at the Workhouse make 
between $33,700 and $47,500. See, “Salary,” City of St. 
Louis Government, available at 
https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/p
ersonnel/jobs/job-detail.cfm?job=2154&detail=1.  

126.

Dera Luce, “The Fight for Better Transit is Part of the 
FIght for Racial Equity,” City Lab, October 13, 2017, 
https://www.citylab.com/equity/2017/10/mobilizing-forprotests-without-a-car/542373/ and Mikayla Bouchard. 
“Transportation Emerges as Crucial to Escaping 
Poverty,” New York Times, May 7, 2015. 
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/07/upshot/transporta
tion-emerges-as-crucial-to-escaping-poverty. 

127.

“Segregation in St. Louis: Dismantling the Divide,” For 
The Sake of All, April, 2018, 72, available at 
https://forthesakeofall.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/
SegregationinSTL_DismantlingDivideReport.pdf.  

128.

“Forward through Ferguson: A Path Toward Racial 
Equity,” Forward through Ferguson, October 14, 2015, 
https://forwardthroughferguson.org/report/call-to-actio
n/enhancing-access-to-transportation/.  

111.

St. Louis Ordinance 65609 § 2, 2002, available at: 
https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/internal-apps/legislative/upload/O
rdinances/BOAPdf/65609x00.pdf.  

112.

St. Louis Ordinance 65609 § 2, 2002. 

113.

Caitlin Lee and Clark Randall, “For Landlord Nathan Cooper, 
Section-8 Tenants are Big Business,” Riverfront Times, June 27, 
2018, available at 
https://m.riverfronttimes.com/stlouis/nathan-cooper-section-8gravois-park/Content?oid=20676900&storyPage=4.  

114.

Woodhall-Melnik, J. R., & Dunn, J. R. (2016). A systematic 
review of outcomes associated with participation in Housing 
First programs. Housing Studies, 31(3), 287-304. 

115.

“Jailing People with Mental Illness,” National Alliance on 
Mental Illness, 
https://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Public-Policy/Jailing-People
-with-Mental-Illness.  

129.

Richard Seiter and Karen Kadela, “Prisoner Reentry: 
What Works, What Does Not, and What is Promising,” 
Sage Publications, 2003, 
http://64.6.252.14/class/Temp/reentry11.pdf, 56.  

116.

Jim Doyle, “Mental health safety net in St. Louis is strained,” 
Dec. 23, 2012, 
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/mental-health-safety-netin-st-louis-area-is-strained/article_56c215f2-716d-5c29-a2db-a9
f81520736b.html.  

130.

117.

Office of Neighbourhood Safety: See, “2016 Highlight: Officer of 
Neighborhood Safety,” City of Richmond, California, 2017, 
https://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/DocumentCenter/View/41749/2
016-FINAL-DRAFT-ANNUAL-SUMMARY?bidId= 

118.

Angle Ross, “Chart of the Week: Mapping Unemployment in St. 
Louis,” National Equity Atlas, October 7, 2016, 
http://nationalequityatlas.org/data-in-action/StLouisUnemploy
ment. 

“These Maps Show the Average Cost of Childcare in 
Each State,” Huffington Post, April 23, 2018, 
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/these-maps-sho
w-the-average-cost-of-childcare-in-each_us_5ada5ac6e4
b08013892cf610; Gina Adams, Teresa Derrick-Mills, and 
Caroline Heller, “Strategies to Meet the Childcare Needs 
of Low-Income Parents Seeking Education and 
Training,” Urban Institute, September 2016, 
https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/84
326/2000938-Strategies-to-Meet-the-Child-Care-Needs-of
-Low-Income-Parents-Seeking-Education-and-Training.
pdf. 

131.

“The State of America’s Children 2017,” Children’s 
Defense Fund, 2017, 
http://www.childrensdefense.org/library/data/child-car
e-assistance-policies-low-income-afford-quality-care-ch
ildren.pdf. 

119.

Ben Schiller, “Mass Incarceration is The Enemy of Economic 
Opportunity,” Fast Company, January 30, 2017, 
https://www.fastcompany.com/3064950/mass-incarceration-isthe-enemy-of-economic-opportunity 

132.

120.

“Collateral Costs: Incarceration’s Effect on Economic Mobility,” 
The Pew Charitable Trusts, 2010, 
http://www.pewtrusts.org/-/media/legacy/uploadedfiles/pcs_as
sets/2010/collateralcosts1pdf.pdf.  

Joe Trinacia, “Mayor Kenney: Philly’s Oldest Prison to 
Close by 2020,” Philadelphia. April 18, 2018, 
https://www.phillymag.com/news/2018/04/18/philadelp
hia-house-correction-closure/. 

133.

121.

Janie Boschma, Ronald Brownstein, “The Concentration of 
Poverty in American Schools,” Feb. 29, 2016, 
https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/02/conce
ntration-poverty-american-schools/471414/. 

Robert Smith, “Philadelphia’s Oldest Jail, the House of 
Correction, to Close by 2020,” NBC 10. April 18, 2018, 
https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/House-of-C
orrection-Philadelphia-incarceration-prison-closure-202
0-480149263.html. 

122.

Dan Carson, Laura Isensee, Reema Khrais, Tim Lloyd, 
Alexandra Olgin, Becky Vevea, “Why America’s Shcools Have 
a Money Problem,” April 18, 2016, 
https://www.npr.org/2016/04/18/474256366/why-americas-sch
ools-have-a-money-problem.   

134.

Lyda Krewson, “St. Louis holds an opportunity to lead 
the way: My thoughts on the last few days,” St. Louis-MO 
GOV, September 19, 2017, 
https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/m
ayor/news/mayor-responds-to-last-few-days.cfm.  

123.

Frances Robles and Shaila Dewan, “Skip Child Support. Go to 

43   
 

 

135.

David Hunn, “Dale Glass named new St. Louis corrections 
commissioner,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 31, 
2012,fhttps://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/dale-glass-n
amed-new-st-louis-corrections-commissioner/article_92f74286ab2d-11e1-a773-0019bb30f31a.html. 

136.

This campaign uses the required decarceration number 450 
based on capacity of St. Louis’s City Justice Center. The City 
Justice Center (CJC) has a capacity of 860 individuals. There 
are currently 690 incarcerated in CJC, and 550 incarcerated at 
the Workhouse. Jails normally cannot be filled to capacity so 
we leave around 10% of free bedspace. This leaves around 100 
free beds at CJC that could be filled by individuals that do not 
fit in any immediate decarceration priorities while releasing 
individuals from the Workhouse. This would leave 450 
individuals that would have to be released from St. Louis’ 
custody in order to immediately close the Workhouse and not 
require a new jail to incarcerate individuals under the 
authority of St. Louis’s custody. Note that the number would 
be even lower if St. Louis refused to hold federal inmates at 
CJC (around 150 federal custody inmates are held at CJC). See  
https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/public-s
afety/corrections/documents/upload/JULY-2018-REPORTING-O
F-STATISTICS.pdf  

137.

“Departments Reporting to the Mayor,” St. Louis-MO 
GOV,https://library.municode.com/mo/st._louis/codes/code_of_
ordinances?nodeId=CH_ARTVIIICIOFEM_S1APBEMAMATE 

142.

In Philadelphia, the District Attorney has eliminated 
cash bail for 25 non-violent offenses. Also see, Alicia 
Victoria Lozano, “Philadelphia Distrct Attorney Larry 
Krasner Ends Cash Bail for Low-Level Offenses,”NBC 
10, February 21, 2018, 
https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/The-End
-of-Cash-Bail-in-Philadelphia-District-Attorney-to-Issue
-Policy-Change-474728233.html.  

143.

See Page 30 of the Plan; also see R.S.Mo. § 544.455 
stating that that a judge may release an individual on 
their own personal recognizance. St. Louis law allows 
for release on personal recognizance. 

144.

Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 33.05: “A person for whom conditions 
of release are imposed and who after twenty-four 
hours from the time of the release hearing continues 
to be detained as a result of his inability to meet the 
conditions of release shall, upon application, be 
entitled to have the conditions reviewed by the court 
which imposed them. The application shall be 
determined promptly.” 

145.

It is unclear whether the policy is a written one or is a 
norm ordered by Circuit Attorney Gardner. This 
policy was also under effect under Circuit Attorney 
Joyce’s leadership.  

146.

Erin Durkin, “Text message remiders help curb 
number of defendents who skip NYC court,” Daily 
News, Jan. 23, 2018, 
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/text-messagereminders-curb-number-defendants-skip-court-article
-1.3774378.  

138.

“About Board Bills,” St. Louis-MO GOV, 
https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/city-laws/board-bills/
ordinances-how.cfm.  

139.

“Mayor Lyda Krewson Appoints Circuit Judge Jimmie Edwards 
New Director of Public Safety,” St. Louis-MO GOV. October 13, 
2017,dhttps://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/m
ayor/news/circuit-judge-jimmie-m-edwards-new-director-of-p
ublic-safety.cfm.   

147.

Director Clifford T. Keenan, “It’s about Results, Not 
Money,” Pretrial Service Agency for the District of 
Columbia, September 4, 2014 
https://www.psa.gov/?q=node/499. 

140.

See “Community Policing,” Coalition Against Police Crimes and 
Repression, March 28, 2018, 
http://capcr-stl.org/community-policing/  

148.

141.

See Teresa Wiltz, “Locked Up: Is cash Bail on the Way Out,” 
PEW Research, March 1, 2017,.  
http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/st
ateline/2017/03/01/locked-up-is-cash-bail-on-the-way-out; in 
Philly: Claire Sasko, DA Krasner Will Drop Cash Bail for 
Most Non-Violent Crime, Philadelphia, February 21, 2018, 
https://www.phillymag.com/news/2018/02/21/krasner-cash-b
ail-reform/. In Manhattan: Manhattan District Attorney’s 
Office, “Manhattan and Broklyn District Attorney’s Officez 
End Requests Bail Most Misdemeanor Cases,” January 9, 
2018, 
https://www.manhattanda.org/manhattan-and-brooklyn-dis
trict-attorneys-offices-end-requests-bail-most-misdemeanor/
.; In Florida: Elizabeth Johnson, “Florida Campaign for 
Crmiinal Justice Reform Responds to Ninth Judicial Circuit 
Bail Reform Announcement,” ACLU Florida, May 16, 2018, 
https://www.aclufl.org/en/press-releases/florida-campaign-c
riminal-justice-reform-responds-ninth-judicial-circuit-bail-r
eform; 
https://twitter.com/SAAramisAyala/status/996856236153999
365; in D.C., the court operates a Pretrial Services 
Corporation that is staffed 24/7 and 89% remain 
arrest-free.# to immediately speak with anyone arrested 
and two individuals who can vouch for them and ultimately 
88% of individuals are released pretrial on their own 
recognizance and 89% remain arrest-free. 
https://www.psa.gov/?q=node/499 Director Clifford T. 
Keenan, september 4, 2014. 

The St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office has four diversion 
programs: Misdemeanor Redirect Program; Pre-plea 
Felony Redirect Program; Post-plea felony program; 
Youthful offender program. The CAO Misdemeanor 
Redirect Program (M.R.P.) is a diversion program for 
defendants charged with Misdemeanor crimes with 
little or no criminal history that provides an opportunity 
to accept responsibility for their actions, seek 
rehabilitation, and divert their cases from traditional 
criminal prosecution. The Felony Redirect Program 
(FRP) is a Post-Plea/Deferred Sentencing diversion 
program designed to allow non-violent felony offenders 
with little or no criminal history to accept responsibility 
for their actions and enter an intensive course of 
supervision with programs such as behavior 
modification, education, job skills training and 
employment, and community service designed to 
redirect the offender out of the criminal justice system 
and into a more positive and productive position in the 
community). 

149.

“Circuit Court, FY 2017, Criminal Cases Filed, Disposed 
and Pending,” Office of States Courts Administrator, 
2017, available at 
https://www.courts.mo.gov/file.jsp?id=122358  

150.

For more information on participatory budgeting, See, 
”What is Participatory Budgeting,” Participatory 
Budgeting Project, 2018, 
https://www.participatorybudgeting.org/what-is-pb/ 

 
 

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