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The BSCC takes a new look at Los Padrinos & Barry J Juvenile halls, and finds them “out of compliance” 22 times
As most WitnessLA readers know, just under six months ago, on May 23, The California Board of State and Community Corrections—or BSCC— took the radical step of voting unanimously to legally declare that LA County Probation’s two main youth lock-ups “unsuitable” for habitation by kids or young adults.
Cash bail policies are under fresh scrutiny
States can’t figure out what to do about cash bail. The system — in which an arrested suspect pays cash to avoid sitting in jail until their court date and gets the money back when they appear — is deeply entrenched in the nation’s history as a way to ensure defendants return to face justice.
To our nation’s veterans, with deep gratitude
As we celebrate our nation’s veterans, those of us who live in Los Angeles County or the city of LA, need also to be aware of the latest facts about military veterans and homelessness. LA County has long had the nation’s highest number of homeless military veterans—nearly 3457 according...
Thoughts about this week’s four LASD suicides
Darrin Harris, 56, an active-duty commander of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, was one of four members of the LASD who killed themselves within a 24 hour period this week. The first death was reported on Monday morning at 10:30 a.m., the second one a little after noon...
CA Governor Signs and Vetoes Policing Bills
In October, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed — and vetoed — the last of hundreds of bills that state legislators sent to his desk for final approval. Because so many of these bills were justice or foster care-related, WitnessLA has broken the list up into multiple stories focused on individual categories. Last week, we published a roundup of bills focused on conditions of incarceration in California. Other topics we’ll soon dig into include youth justice, crime and courts, and child welfare. In this week’s story, we wanted to update readers on the fate of this year’s bills that addressed policing issues.
Even in Prison, White Privilege Thrives
In 2019, I served as a kitchen worker in the Progressive Programming Facility at the state prison in Lancaster, Calif. There was a waste bin we called Thumper the Talking Dumpster. We called it that because of the gurgling sound the waste made while it baked in the sun. At...
Youth living at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall overdoses twice on fentanyl, as investigators working to get lethal drugs out of Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall are relieved of duty
Last Wednesday, October 18, a kid in residence at Los Angeles County Probation’s Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall overdosed on fentanyl. The young man didn’t overdose on the synthetic opioid at Los Padrinos. Instead, he took the drug while he was in a local court holding tank waiting to go before a superior court judge. Fortunately, an LA County Sheriff’s deputy who was observing the young man from outside the holding room, saw the kid’s distress and was able to administer Narcan.
A letter to youth: How I achieved the impossible dream of a master’s degree
In 2016, I finally made it to California State University, Fresno. It took resilience, commitment, patience, and not giving up to make it there. I couldn’t believe I was at a university. I always felt dumb and struggled in school. Where I come from, college seemed like an impossible dream. The only dream my friends and I had was of a future as a gang member in a juvenile or prison facility. I did not believe in myself and could not dream of a life away from gangs and violence.
To end domestic violence, heal the abusers, say those who do the healing
In the world of family violence, the focus is on healing victims. The survivors. This means a strong emphasis on raising funding for domestic violence shelters, thousands of research projects, state and federal legislation, and work to change the criminal justice response. But that approach provides help for only half...
Solitary Confinement Reform and Other Bills May Get a Second Chance in 2024
California Governor Gavin Newsom has until the end of October 14 to sign and veto hundreds of bills that remain on his desk. After the deadline, WitnessLA will publish a roundup of the final status of the important justice bills state legislators passed. Before that final tallying, however, we wanted...
Deconstructing the conviction of Mark Ridley-Thomas: Part 6 – Bail & the landmark case known as Batson
Late Monday, the defense attorneys for Mark Ridley-Thomas filed a 37-page motion requesting bail for their client so that he won’t be in prison while they appeal his case to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. It is up to U.S. District Court Judge Dale S. Fischer, the jurist...
District Attorney Gascón Announces Exoneration of Man Wrongfully Convicted 27-years ago with a false confession: Here’s the story
Tuesday afternoon, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced the release from prison of Gerardo Cabanillas who, in April, 1996, was wrongfully convicted of robbery, kidnapping, and rape. “Today, we acknowledge a grave injustice…” Gascón said. “Upon thorough reexamination of the evidence and a comprehensive...
Courts Impose Outsized Punishments for Failing to Appear in Court
In California, missing a criminal court date means facing additional charges, fines, and incarceration. These punishments disproportionately impact low income individuals and people of color accused of misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies, while failing to improve public safety according to a state-by-state analysis by the Prison Policy Initiative (PPI). . PPI...
Suspect is arrested as members of Palmdale Sheriff’s Station & many more continue to grieve for murdered deputy
Approximate 36 hours after the unprovoked attack that resulted in the death of Palmdale Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer, members of of the LA County Sheriff’s Department’s Special Enforcement Bureau (SEB) took 29-year-old Cataneo Salazar into custody without incident. “The suspect barricaded himself in his house for several hours,” said...
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