For Immediate Release: 21 August 2023
Media Contact: Noble Frank, noble@mnfreedomfund.org, (952) 353-6930
MINNEAPOLIS — In response to the death of Christian Rivera-Coba in the Anoka County jail, the following is a statement from Mirella Ceja-Orozco, Executive Director of the Minnesota Freedom Fund:
“Christian Rivera-Coba should be alive today, and in a just society, he would be.
Instead, because of the persistence of pre-trial jailing, Mr. Rivera-Coba’s family is left heartbroken and demanding answers about his death while in the custody of Anoka County Jail.
Minnesota Freedom Fund believes in accountability for harm. But people of conscience should reject a criminal legal system where death in custody is a potential consequence for anyone — and especially for someone who has not even been found guilty of a crime.
And yet, as shown by recent data requests, 11 people have died in Minnesota jails this year alone, and more than 50 other people have died in prisons and jails since 2015. This number should alarm a public who, by and large, is kept in the dark about the violent consequences of mass incarceration, and of pre-trial jailing in particular.
We join Mr. Rivera-Coba’s family in demanding that officials provide transparency into the conditions surrounding Mr. Rivera-Coba’s death, so that the individuals or entities who caused his death can be held accountable.
We also know that, without system-wide transparency, more people will continue to suffer and die in Minnesota jails. It’s time for Minnesota counties to provide annual data about cash bail and pre-trial jailing to the Legislature so that our leaders — and the people they represent — can understand and correct the grave harms occurring in county jails.”
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