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WitnessLA Wins 1st Prize for Crime Reporting at SoCal Journalism Awards
On Sunday night, at the the Millennium Biltmore Hotel, The Los Angeles Press Club handed out the 64th Southern California Journalism Awards. The tradition of these yearly awards was launched in the 1900s, and has worked ever after to “support, promote, and defend quality journalism in Southern California.”. This...
Deconstructing the Conviction of Mark Ridley-Thomas: Part 1
On Monday morning, June 26, Mark Ridley-Thomas and his team of defense attorneys will come before U.S. District Court Judge Dale S. Fischer in order that his attorneys may argue two motions on behalf of their client. The first of the two motions, known as a Rule 33 motion, requests...
A string of kids overdose & a staff member attacked in LA County youth hall
According WitnessLA’s sources, and a document we have obtained, in the last five days there have been eleven drug overdoses at Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall, all of which required intervention, and in some cases, an emergency trip to the hospital. In addition, in the last few days, also...
California’s AG appears to be moving toward a more aggressive form of oversight for Vallejo Police.
WLA Editor’s note: As most WitnessLA readers know, Attorney General Rob Bonta launched a civil rights investigation of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD), in 2021. Then on April 12 of this year, a very unhappy AG Bonta brought an “enforcement action,” against Los Angeles County in another arena due to “Illegal and Unsafe Conditions, Lack of Outdoor Exercise and Education at County’s Juvenile Halls,” and more. Also earlier this year, the AG’s office launched a civil rights probe into the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office due to “deeply concerning” allegations of misconduct within the office, as well as the unsafe confinement conditions at the sheriff’s jails.
US Supreme Court upholds the Indian Child Welfare Act in 7-2 decision
Last Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a challenge to a federal law aimed at keeping Native American children within the foster care system in Native American homes. The Supreme Court in a 7-2 decision upheld the 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act, which established federal minimum standards for the removal of Native American children from their homes. The law also prioritized placing children into homes of extended family members and other tribal homes — places that could reflect the values of Native American culture.
Happy Juneteenth! And to help you celebrate…a reading list
In no particular order, below you’ll find a short reading list in honor of Juneteenth 2023 (with thanks to the Smithsonian, whose researchers curated their own list that jump-started our thinking). First up: The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead. Whitehead has written a list of amazing books, each with...
California’s Fentanyl Problem Is getting worse, as experts argue about solutions.
In the story below, Don Johnson of California Healthline gives an update on the breadth and depth of the growing opioid crisis in California, and what the state is trying to do about it. As WitnessLA has reported, this year in Los Angeles County, the depth of the opioid problem...
Preview: Deconstructing the conviction of Mark Ridley-Thomas
Two and-a-half months ago, on Thursday, March 30, 2023, U.S. District Court Judge Dale S. Fischer read the jury verdict in the corruption and bribery case against Mark Ridley-Thomas, one of Los Angeles County’s most powerful and revered public figures. The jury found the former state senator, former assemblyman,...
California’s digital privacy battle was already complicated & now, post Dobbs, it has brand new complications
On March 1, 2019, 38-year-old Adbadalla Thabet arrived at a Bank of America in the Paramount neighborhood of Los Angeles to deposit cash from a string of gas stations he helped his family manage. As he parked, two other vehicles — one red, one gray — approached from behind. The driver of the gray vehicle shot and killed Thabet while the driver of the red vehicle took his backpack and sped away, court documents show.
Punishing Families: The Need to Reimagine LA County’s Child Welfare System
This is the first in a multi-part series about racial and economic disparities in LA County’s child welfare system, and the impact family surveillance and separation has on kids and their parents. Using the catchall allegation of “general neglect,” LA County’s child welfare system removes Black children and kids...
When ‘What Goes Around Comes Around’ Is a Good Thing
This common phrase can be a threat in prison — but also a sign of mutual respect. The phrase “What goes around, comes around” has been a refrain throughout my life, but its meaning has changed over the years. I used to think of it as a threat, but in prison — one of the unlikeliest of places — I’ve learned how it can be applied to the spirit of giving.
CA Senate approves bill eliminating deadline for reducing old felony convictions to misdemeanors under Prop 47
On Tuesday, May 30, the California Senate approved a bill eliminating the deadline by which people must apply to reduce old felony convictions to misdemeanors for low level, non-violent crimes, under voter-approved Proposition 47. Of course the bill must be approved by the state assembly, and be signed by the...
Memorial Day: With Deep Gratitude, Sorrow, & Love: For Our Fallen Sons And Daughters, Mothers, Fathers, Wives, Husbands, Brothers And Sisters
With gratitude for those who served— those who came back, and those who didn’t—an excerpt from the heartbreaking and healing book that has long been a favorite of veterans: Tim O’Brien’s, The Things They Carried. If you’ve never read Tim O’Brien’s masterwork, please consider picking...
Unsuitable: With Tuesday’s pain-haunted vote, CA’s Oversight Board ordered LA’s youth halls to be shut down. But the dangers are far from over
On Tuesday afternoon, May 23, the members of The California Board of State and Community Corrections of BSCC voted unanimously to legally declare LA County Probation’s two main youth lock-ups “unsuitable” for habitation by kids or young adults. The two facilities, Barry J Nidorf Juvenile Hall and...
On Tuesday, will CA’s oversight commission give LA County Probation extra time to empty out its troubled youth halls? – Updated
On Tuesday, May 23, the California Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) is expected to vote to declare Los Angeles County Probation’s two main youth lock-ups, Barry J Nidorf Juvenile Hall and Central Juvenile Hall, to be “unsuitable for youth habitation.”. This is an action that reportedly...
LA County Inspector General uses CA’s new deputy gang laws to start identifying LASD’s gangsters with badges— meanwhile county counsel lawyers attack whistleblowers
Los Angeles County Inspector General Max Huntsman has quietly sent out 35 letters to 35 different LA County Sheriff’s deputies. The letters, which are dated Friday, May 12, direct each of the deputy recipients to schedule an interview with the IG’s office within the next fourteen days. The interview will pertain to one or the other of the LASD’s two most notorious deputy gangs, namely the Executioners and the Banditos.
WitnessLA is a finalist for this year’s SoCal Journalism Awards!
This year’s finalists for the 65th Annual SoCal Journalism Awards were just announced, and WitnessLA was delighted to learn that we are a finalist in the category of Crime Reporting by print or online news outlets. The winners for the various awards will be announced on June 25, 2023,...
Youth found dead of drug overdose at LA County’s Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall
A boy was found dead of a drug overdose at Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall Tuesday morning. According to our sources the teenager was found unresponsive on the floor of his room in what is known as Unit X. Staff called for medical help but reportedly it was too late. He was pronounced dead at approximately 8:28 a.m.
LA County to Receive Money and Technical Support to Work Toward Ending Girls’ Incarceration
The California Office of Youth and Community Restoration (OYCR) and the Vera Institute of Justice have selected Los Angeles to participate in a multi-year initiative to end the incarceration of girls and gender-expansive youth. Los Angeles and three other counties — Imperial, Sacramento, and San Diego — have agreed to...
I Had Already Walked That Road: How One Woman Is Helping Survivors of Domestic Violence
Maury Danielle studied the flyer about a missing woman that a friend had shared on Facebook. Something about it was wrong, she thought. The flyer showed the woman smiling with her husband and children. The husband had created the flyer and was calling for help finding his wife. But he gave no context about why his wife had disappeared, only that she was missing.
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