Elizabeth Marilla-Kapp
“We do need to do something about the jail, but we don’t need to do this. The county needs to demonstrate commitment to keeping people out of jail. The county needs a strategic plan around diversion.
“There isn’t one. “
Elizabeth Rook Panicucci, Co-Director, Prairielands Freedom Fund
“Excess jail capacity does not stay empty. Across the country, local jails have been used to hold people for ICE, and expanding our jail creates infrastructure that could make our community more vulnerable to increased immigration enforcement.”
Local Immigration Organizations Urge “No” Vote on Jail Bond | Organizaciones locales de inmigración piden un voto en CONTRA del bono para la nueva cárcel
“Local immigration advocates witness firsthand how detention infrastructure impacts immigrant families. We have watched detainments in Iowa jump 273% as ICE relies on local jails to expand its detention network, which raises an important question about Johnson County’s proposed new jail.”
“Los defensores locales de inmigración son testigos de cómo las cárceles afectan a las familias inmigrantes. Hemos visto cómo las detenciones en Iowa han aumentado un 273% mientras ICE utiliza las cárceles locales para expandir su red de detención, lo cual plantea una pregunta importante sobre la propuesta de un bono para construir una nueva cárcel en el Condado de Johnson”
Ahmed Souaiaia, Human Rights, Law & Governance Scholar
“The question is not whether public safety matters. It is which combination of interventions will improve public safety most effectively.”
The Proposed Jail Would Bankrupt Efforts to End Homelessness in Johnson County
“We must see this ballot question as a choice that reflects our priorities. If we borrow this huge sum of money for a new jail, what are we forgoing?”
Andre Wright, Designer, Co-Founder of Humanize My Hoodie
“Jails are the last stop when all the other systems fail. And it’s the most expensive, least cost-effective option we have. We should be investing in prevention instead of a jail, which disproportionately impacts Black and brown communities, even in Johnson County.”
Chad Slater-Scott
“The same stale argument that has been used before is being used again; supporters argue that the current jail, built in 1981, is outdated and expensive to maintain. They say a new jail would reduce the need to house people in other counties. Those arguments fail considering the facts. Johnson County’s own published jail statistics show that the average daily jail population has fallen dramatically from its peak. The county reported an average daily population of 161 in 2010, but only 83 in 2023, 86 in 2024, and 88 in 2025. In other words, the long-term trend is not a growing jail population. It is a smaller jail population than Johnson County had 15 years ago.”
Harper Folsom, Chaplain and Artist
“There are solutions to our problems that do not include investment in incarceration. I am not afraid to dream of and work toward a better way forward, and I encourage both voters and elected officials to do the same.”
Epidemiologist Dr. Nichole Nidey
“I’m voting no because jails are the most expensive way to make communities unhealthy.”