In April of this year, Nickolas Lee died after contracting COVID-19 while incarcerated in Cook County Jail. His wife, Cassandra Greer-Lee, fought to save his life. Now, she is fighting to ensure that no one else suffers the same fate. Today, we are proud to be working with Cassandra, Definition Theatre, Make Yourself Useful, The Confined Arts and Zealous to launch “132 Calls,” an animated film series that tells her story of love, institutional indifference, and the death of her husband. 

Nickolas Lee is just one of thousands of people in Chicago and hundreds of thousands across the country who are being infected with COVID inside of US jails and prisons. Their deaths were caused not just by COVID, but by institutional indifference. Hundreds of thousands of people in jails and prisons around the country have been infected by COVID-19 and thousands have died while leaders have either done nothing or too little to make any difference despite calls for help from their families and other loved ones, advocates, and medical professionals. In Chicago, despite the deaths of Nickolas and six others, there are now over 1000 more people in Cook County Jail than when he died.

We hope that their story inspires you to take action. Join Cassandra and other people with loved ones incarcerated in Cook County Jail during the pandemic every Sunday at noon in front of the Cook County Jail. More info is available at Justice for Nick. 

You can also write to your state representative and senator in support of the Pretrial Fairness Act. Every year, tens of thousands of people like Nickolas are incarcerated in county jails across Illinois without a bond set and no way to get out. The Pretrial Fairness Act would ensure that nobody could be jailed without first having a thorough and fair hearing in court. Write to your legislators,

You can look out for the second and third parts of the “132 Calls” series at 132calls.com