Philadelphia, PA – Dozens of people confronted Philadelphia Department of Prisons Commissioner Michael Resnick on September 17 about the deaths of Amanda Cahill and Michael McKinnis, who died in jail the week before. The protest, at the Parkway Central Free Library, was led by community organizations and members of the family of Amanda Cahill to demand an end to mass incarceration and the criminalization of houselessness in Philadelphia.

Commissioner Resnick was just about to speak at a panel on mass incarceration when protesters disrupted the proceedings with chants and pointed to his share of guilt for the deaths of people in his custody.

Kayden Hujak, Amanda Cahill’s cousin, pointed out that the family holds the commissioner, the correction officers, and the nurse responsible for Cahill’s death but “number one, I think, we have to point to Mayor Cherelle Parker for this because of the police sweeps she is having done in Kensington. If it were not for the sweeps, I believe she would still be here.”

Mayor Parker’s police sweeps target unhoused people as part of her war on the poor. As for the conditions within the jail, Cahill’s fellow inmates banged on the doors and yelled for hours through the night in an attempt to get her medical attention. Despite the jail announcing that it was prepared to accept those arrested in the sweep, staff provided clearly inadequate care to protect the life of Amanda Cahill.

“I know how to take care of people that use substances and going through withdrawal and what they were doing in that prison was definitely going to get people hurt,” said Hujak. Michael McKinnis, a 61-year-old Black man, was the fifth person to die in a Philadelphia jail this year.

“I want to connect with other families this has happened to and I want to protest and continue this,” said Hujak. Amanda’s family is calling on those able to join them on Thursday, September 25 at city hall in supporting a Philadelphia city council resolution condemning the Supreme Court's decision to allow civil and criminal penalties for houselessness. Amanda is named in a section of the resolution and public comment in support is encouraged.

Organizations that participated in the protest included the Community Action Relief Project (CAARP), PSL Philly, Workers World Party, and Abolitionist Law Center.

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