Justice for Amanda Cahill: THEY IGNORED THEIR CRIES FOR HELP. REFORM PHILLY PRISONS NOW.
Justice for Amanda Cahill: THEY IGNORED THEIR CRIES FOR HELP. REFORM PHILLY PRISONS NOW.
The Issue
My name is Kayden Hujack and I am the cousin of the “31-year-old woman arrested during a Kensington sweep last week died in jail days later.” Her name was Amanda Cahill, and people should know her name. The whole reason I am contacting every single news station in Philadelphia. Why I am contacting you now.
Here is the article in case you need a reference or aren’t aware of this situation.
Let me give you an insight on who my cousin was.. because people need to know who the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center took away from us. The that brightened up so many people’s lives, and they should be aware. My cousin wasn’t only the 31-year-old who was murdered in a Philadelphio jail.. She was a human being who deserved love, care and to have her basic needs provided.
Amanda was the light in any room she walked into. You knew if Amanda was there it was going to be filled with belly laughs that hurt your stomach, and laugh lines that hurt your cheeks. She was the most resilient person I know, I’d honestly call her a warrior. She was so incredibly smart, and she knew what she was talking about (and could defend it til she was blue in the face). She was a loving mother to two beautiful children and loved them endlessly, and frequently expressed to me that she did. That’s actually a main thing we would talk about would be her children. Two children that are without their mother. She wasn’t only a mother, but a daughter, sister, aunt, cousin, friend, significant other, you name it… Amanda just was. Amanda could talk to any walk of life about anything and everything- and what’s normally unlikely is- Amanda actually was attentive and cared what you had to say. She cared about others and their story. She could talk to someone and not have a judgmental thought in her mind….why? Because Amanda was an empathetic individual- and what made her so versatile was that she wasn’t only book smart, she was also street smart and I believe the combo of the two is what made her so educated about the way of the world, the hardships and of course- how people of her experience are neglected, shamed, judged and cast away by our society, and especially… the Philadelphia correctional and judicial systems, in addition to the Philadelphia mayor, Cherelle Parker.
Amanda was one of 34 arrested on Wednesday September 4th 2024 at about 8:30 in the morning. The correctional facility that she was taken to was the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center.
John Mitchell who is the Communications Coordinator for the prison said that they had advanced notice of this particular sweep and were “prepared” to receive a surge of individuals in result of it. Which I would like to challenge that the prison was in fact, NOT prepared whatsoever. I’d
She was brought in on a Wednesday at 8:30am and was pronounced dead on a Saturday at 7:45am. I’d really love an explanation as to how this happened and how it even makes sense when there’s a prison nurse who is supposed to be taking care of inmates, tending to and alleviating any symptoms they come across? 3 days incarcerated and she ended up dead.
If Amanda did happen to die due to withdrawal symptoms in a correctional facility- this would be the -at LEAST- 26th person who has passed away in the hands of Philadelphia jails. Maybe if Philadelphia had adequate services for this population, and other populations of homelessness and poverty, you’d have less people on the streets.
The police’s main goal is to target people on drugs, who are probably on drugs to cope with the lack of services or the defeat because climbing the ladder of the system is nearly impossible when living in poverty.
A MAJOR problem here is that the mayor of Philadelphia, Cherelle L. Parker believes that incarceration is the way to rehabilitation. Parker has pledged to end the notorious “open-air” drug market in Philadelphia, primarily the Kensington area, where there are more than 700 people homeless and on the streets.
Philadelphia officers have been focused on making more arrests for possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia. Their main goal “to stop open use.” So far, this year Philadelphia police have arrested ~870 people for drug possession ~250 more than last years’ reports. Can anyone explain how we are arresting more substance users for drug possession than we are people for firearm possession? Something seems a little off here to me, but hey. According to recent data, approximately 1,747 more arrests for drug possession than firearm possession. That seems a little backwards to me.
Nothing was fixed, and she stole the light out of a beautiful girl and made the world dark. Amanda would not go down without a fight and to think that the cause of death was out of her hands makes me, and a lot of other people enraged, and something needs to be done. She died… alone. By herself. In a place where she should have been safe. You know, when Amanda was in custody I thought “good, at least she’s off the streets and I know that she isn’t going to end up dead.” Turns out I was dead wrong.She was supposed to be looked after, cared for, and safe. Instead, she’s dead. HOW does this happen???
No one should be dying in custody. How does someone get assessed by a nurse only to pass hours later? Something is awry and I can allow this to go unnoticed, she would not want me to. I am an activist, and a harm reductionist. I can not sit and let my cousin be murdered in custody and be silent. I just can’t, and I shouldn’t. Our family is a strong one. We were raised to be warriors, and Amanda more than anyone. We will fight for Amanda and we will not allow the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center, and especially the government body of Philadelphia, to get away with yet another death. They have blood on their hands.
The nurse, the Philadelphia Prison System, the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center and Cherelle Parker and her insistent need to attack substance users and populations of poverty instead of providing essential services for these individuals to work their way back to health.
Justice for Amanda, and everyone else who has died at the hands of the Philadelphia Prison System.
Please sign this petition to ensure that action is taken and adequate funding is provided to amp up the services in the Philadelphia/Kensington area, the conditions in Philadelphia prisons, and to make sure that if they are going to throw substance users in prison/jail, that there are adequate staff, doctors, medical beds, and that the whole system is torn down and rebuilt in order to benefit the inmate and their needs while incarcerated and forced into immediate abstinence. Proper services need to be available for this population of individuals, as they too, deserve life. Philadelphia Prisons and their entire system needs to be reformed. Inspections of conditions and adequate care should be performed regularly. Surveys conveying inmates' experience in order to be aware of what changes need to be instilled. If you are for prison reform, please sign this petition for my cousin who deserved a shot at life. She deserved the opportunity to recover. It was stolen from her, and we want answers... and to make sure that this NEVER happens to anyone else or their families, ever again.
I love you, Amanda. I'm so sorry.
4,994
The Issue
My name is Kayden Hujack and I am the cousin of the “31-year-old woman arrested during a Kensington sweep last week died in jail days later.” Her name was Amanda Cahill, and people should know her name. The whole reason I am contacting every single news station in Philadelphia. Why I am contacting you now.
Here is the article in case you need a reference or aren’t aware of this situation.
Let me give you an insight on who my cousin was.. because people need to know who the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center took away from us. The that brightened up so many people’s lives, and they should be aware. My cousin wasn’t only the 31-year-old who was murdered in a Philadelphio jail.. She was a human being who deserved love, care and to have her basic needs provided.
Amanda was the light in any room she walked into. You knew if Amanda was there it was going to be filled with belly laughs that hurt your stomach, and laugh lines that hurt your cheeks. She was the most resilient person I know, I’d honestly call her a warrior. She was so incredibly smart, and she knew what she was talking about (and could defend it til she was blue in the face). She was a loving mother to two beautiful children and loved them endlessly, and frequently expressed to me that she did. That’s actually a main thing we would talk about would be her children. Two children that are without their mother. She wasn’t only a mother, but a daughter, sister, aunt, cousin, friend, significant other, you name it… Amanda just was. Amanda could talk to any walk of life about anything and everything- and what’s normally unlikely is- Amanda actually was attentive and cared what you had to say. She cared about others and their story. She could talk to someone and not have a judgmental thought in her mind….why? Because Amanda was an empathetic individual- and what made her so versatile was that she wasn’t only book smart, she was also street smart and I believe the combo of the two is what made her so educated about the way of the world, the hardships and of course- how people of her experience are neglected, shamed, judged and cast away by our society, and especially… the Philadelphia correctional and judicial systems, in addition to the Philadelphia mayor, Cherelle Parker.
Amanda was one of 34 arrested on Wednesday September 4th 2024 at about 8:30 in the morning. The correctional facility that she was taken to was the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center.
John Mitchell who is the Communications Coordinator for the prison said that they had advanced notice of this particular sweep and were “prepared” to receive a surge of individuals in result of it. Which I would like to challenge that the prison was in fact, NOT prepared whatsoever. I’d
She was brought in on a Wednesday at 8:30am and was pronounced dead on a Saturday at 7:45am. I’d really love an explanation as to how this happened and how it even makes sense when there’s a prison nurse who is supposed to be taking care of inmates, tending to and alleviating any symptoms they come across? 3 days incarcerated and she ended up dead.
If Amanda did happen to die due to withdrawal symptoms in a correctional facility- this would be the -at LEAST- 26th person who has passed away in the hands of Philadelphia jails. Maybe if Philadelphia had adequate services for this population, and other populations of homelessness and poverty, you’d have less people on the streets.
The police’s main goal is to target people on drugs, who are probably on drugs to cope with the lack of services or the defeat because climbing the ladder of the system is nearly impossible when living in poverty.
A MAJOR problem here is that the mayor of Philadelphia, Cherelle L. Parker believes that incarceration is the way to rehabilitation. Parker has pledged to end the notorious “open-air” drug market in Philadelphia, primarily the Kensington area, where there are more than 700 people homeless and on the streets.
Philadelphia officers have been focused on making more arrests for possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia. Their main goal “to stop open use.” So far, this year Philadelphia police have arrested ~870 people for drug possession ~250 more than last years’ reports. Can anyone explain how we are arresting more substance users for drug possession than we are people for firearm possession? Something seems a little off here to me, but hey. According to recent data, approximately 1,747 more arrests for drug possession than firearm possession. That seems a little backwards to me.
Nothing was fixed, and she stole the light out of a beautiful girl and made the world dark. Amanda would not go down without a fight and to think that the cause of death was out of her hands makes me, and a lot of other people enraged, and something needs to be done. She died… alone. By herself. In a place where she should have been safe. You know, when Amanda was in custody I thought “good, at least she’s off the streets and I know that she isn’t going to end up dead.” Turns out I was dead wrong.She was supposed to be looked after, cared for, and safe. Instead, she’s dead. HOW does this happen???
No one should be dying in custody. How does someone get assessed by a nurse only to pass hours later? Something is awry and I can allow this to go unnoticed, she would not want me to. I am an activist, and a harm reductionist. I can not sit and let my cousin be murdered in custody and be silent. I just can’t, and I shouldn’t. Our family is a strong one. We were raised to be warriors, and Amanda more than anyone. We will fight for Amanda and we will not allow the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center, and especially the government body of Philadelphia, to get away with yet another death. They have blood on their hands.
The nurse, the Philadelphia Prison System, the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center and Cherelle Parker and her insistent need to attack substance users and populations of poverty instead of providing essential services for these individuals to work their way back to health.
Justice for Amanda, and everyone else who has died at the hands of the Philadelphia Prison System.
Please sign this petition to ensure that action is taken and adequate funding is provided to amp up the services in the Philadelphia/Kensington area, the conditions in Philadelphia prisons, and to make sure that if they are going to throw substance users in prison/jail, that there are adequate staff, doctors, medical beds, and that the whole system is torn down and rebuilt in order to benefit the inmate and their needs while incarcerated and forced into immediate abstinence. Proper services need to be available for this population of individuals, as they too, deserve life. Philadelphia Prisons and their entire system needs to be reformed. Inspections of conditions and adequate care should be performed regularly. Surveys conveying inmates' experience in order to be aware of what changes need to be instilled. If you are for prison reform, please sign this petition for my cousin who deserved a shot at life. She deserved the opportunity to recover. It was stolen from her, and we want answers... and to make sure that this NEVER happens to anyone else or their families, ever again.
I love you, Amanda. I'm so sorry.
4,994
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Petition created on September 14, 2024