This is a sobering reminder that the stakes of ending money bond and pretrial incarceration are literally life and death. In 2017, at least 22 people died while incarcerated in Cook County Jail.

Last week, we lost Richard Smith. Mr. Smith was only 23 years old, and he was awaiting trial in the jail. Rest in power, Mr. Smith. We will fight to make sure that in the future, no one else finds themselves in the situation that you were in.

Source and more reading from the IL Deaths in Custody Project.

Read about Richard’s passing in the Chicago Tribune here.