Protestors were seen rallying in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday morning, calling for the Los Angeles County Men’s Central Jail to be shut down amid reports of inhumane conditions and dozens of inmate deaths.
The facility was supposed to close in the spring of 2023, but it never did, and according to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department statistics cited by the demonstrators, nearly 50 inmates died in LASD custody last year alone.
A motion to set up a team to implement the long-promised closure was approved in 2021; at the time, Supervisor Hilda Solis – who co-authored the motion – said the jail had been tainted by mismanagement, corruption and mistreatment of incarcerated individuals.
Years later, the closure of what an L.A. Times editorial called “a dungeon” remains a work in progress.
One demonstrator told KTLA 5’s Lauren Lyster that they are pushing for a hastened timeline to close the jail and calling for more details and services to help with the closure.
“We think this is really important because we represent so many families who have lost loved ones in that facility,” said Mark-Anthony Clayton-Johnson, Co-Executive Director of Dignity and Power Now, an incarcerated individual advocacy group. “The conditions are getting worse…we are here to say that a crisis is imminent.”
Another woman, whose son died in Men’s Central Jail in 2009, spoke out at Tuesday morning’s rally.
“We just want everybody to know how important it is that we shut Men’s Central Jail down,” Helen Jones said. “And they [have] to give us a date, because you can’t keep telling us and making empty promises that you’re going to close the jail.”
A preview of the presentation that the Board of Supervisors will hear today shows a five-year closure plan with key components including depopulation strategies and the expansion of community beds and support services for inmates dealing with mental health struggles.
The Board of Supervisors is expected to take up the issue at their meeting late Tuesday afternoon. Demonstrators will be encouraged to offer their thoughts during the public comment period.