Abolishing the Nation鈥檚 Largest Jail System

L.A. County activists are working to replace violent jails with mental health facilities, and to reallocate funding from incarceration toward social services.

A yearslong movement to replace Los Angeles jails with restorative-justice-based initiatives is making progress in spite of numerous challenges. L.A. County is home to the nation鈥檚 largest jail system, one in which an each year, many under mysterious circumstances. The most notorious facility in L.A. County is 鈥攖he largest jail in the United States and one of the largest in the world.

Conditions at Men鈥檚 Central are so dangerous that it has been under federal oversight for . Located just minutes from downtown Los Angeles and Chinatown, the sprawling cement structure is surrounded by barbed-wire-topped walls. Inside are some 12,000 people awaiting trial after arrest, or prison after conviction鈥�and some of the most notorious in the country.

Years of reform efforts driven by elected officials and federal oversight have resulted in toward ending the neglect and countless abuses documented at the facility. Activists say it鈥檚 past time to shut down the system altogether. Grassroots groups working with the are leading a campaign dubbed 鈥淐are First, Jails Last鈥� that advocates replacing jails with affordable, quality housing and mental health resources. Meanwhile, the has worked to move county revenues away from incarceration and toward community-based initiatives.

The Case of Jalani Lovett

In September 2021, 27-year-old became one of the latest victims of the L.A. County jail system. The Oakland native was being held in solitary confinement at Men鈥檚 Central while awaiting the start of his prison sentence when he was found unresponsive in his cell. Despite having multiple injuries and deadly levels of fentanyl and heroin in his system, the county coroner ruled his death 鈥渁ccidental鈥� and closed his case shortly thereafter.

But Lovett鈥檚 mother, Terry Lovett, says there鈥檚 no good explanation for how her son, held in a single-person cell, could have obtained drugs or sustained injuries so severe that his shoulder was dislocated. She points to the , which indicated that her son had high levels of heroin and fentanyl in his system at the time of his death. 鈥淵ou die at 2 milligrams [of fentanyl],鈥� Lovett says. 鈥淗ow did he get 10 in him?鈥�

Lovett is convinced that a notorious operating inside Men鈥檚 Central, known as the 鈥�3000 Boys,鈥� is responsible for her son鈥檚 death. In a against the county and its former sheriff, Alex Villanueva, Lovett鈥檚 lawyers claim: 鈥淭he 3000 Boys hold de facto control over the Men鈥檚 Central Jail,鈥� and 鈥渋nstead of protecting and serving, deputies who are part of the 3000 Boys terrorize individuals and operate the deputy gang similarly to a street gang.鈥�

In 2018, Villanueva became the to be elected sheriff of L.A. County, to policing and jails. But he proved to be a to progressive hopes. In 2022, he in a probe of abusive deputy gangs, and he vehemently the closure of Men鈥檚 Central. Villanueva lost his bid for re-election in 2022 to , who ran on a platform of bringing stability and a spirit of collaboration to the office. Villanueva鈥檚 predecessor, Republican , had also promised to reform the jail system and end inmate abuse, and likewise failed to do so. Before McDonnell, oversaw the L.A. Sheriff鈥檚 Department for half a century, before being convicted of interfering in a federal investigation into inmate abuse.

It is against this backdrop of corruption and violence that Lovett鈥檚 lawsuit alleges nefarious conduct as the reason for her son鈥檚 mysterious death. She鈥檚 clear about the first step toward real reform: 鈥淚 think first of all, you need to get rid of the [sheriff鈥檚] deputies,鈥� says Lovett.

Depopulating Men鈥檚 Central Jail

Activists like Mark-Anthony Clayton-Johnson, executive director of , one of the member organizations on JusticeLA鈥檚 executive committee, notes a 鈥減attern in which Black and Brown mothers are finding their children dead in the county jails with no answers, with cover-ups.鈥� He believes that beyond holding sheriff鈥檚 deputies accountable, jails ought not to exist at all.

鈥淧eople who have lost loved ones to brutality and medical abuse and negligence in those jails have actually moved the board of supervisors to close [Men鈥檚 Central],鈥� he explains. The Care First, Jails Last campaign he backs is centered on replacing L.A. County jails with facilities that foster both mental health and restorative justice.

Mental health crises are inextricably linked to incarceration and abuse in L.A. County. Built in 1997 as an expansion of Men鈥檚 Central Jail is Twin Towers Correctional Facility, which the L.A. County Sheriff鈥檚 Department touts as the 鈥�.鈥� Like Men鈥檚 Central, Twin Towers is also of its approximately 3,000 residents. About one-third of all those incarcerated within the L.A. County jail system have received treatment for mental health. 鈥淏y default, we have become the largest treatment facility in the country. And we鈥檙e a jail,鈥� Tim Belavich, director of mental health for the county jail system, told NPR鈥檚 . 鈥淚 would say a jail facility is not the appropriate place to treat someone鈥檚 mental illness.鈥� Activists seeking to close the facility echo this sentiment, saying the county is simply locking up people who need mental health resources.

鈥淧eople with mental health disabilities [are very likely] to experience the type of brutality and medical abuse and negligence that is costing people their lives,鈥� says Clayton-Johnson. Abolitionists like him say brutality and abuse are only amplified when incarceration and mental health illnesses are combined at the hands of law enforcement. In 2019, JusticeLA beat to replace Men鈥檚 Central with a nearly 4,000-bed facility that activists decried as a 鈥�.鈥� In September 2022, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors again considered a motion to build what the Sheriff鈥檚 Department called 鈥�.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

Again, activists succeeded in thwarting the plan, and instead pushed the board to adopt a filed by county supervisors Hilda Solis and Janice Hahn on 鈥渄eveloping mental health care facilities to help depopulate Men鈥檚 Central Jail鈥濃€攁 critical distinction from 鈥渟ecured mental health facilities.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

These victories signaled crucial, if preliminary, steps toward reducing the harm incarcerated people continue to experience while under the care of L.A. County.

鈥淭here is a map, there is a solution, there is a well-researched, well-substantiated plan 鈥� that would improve the well-being of our communities and see less and less jail facilities in Los Angeles County,鈥� says Clayton-Johnson. Part of that plan includes diverting those who struggle with mental health issues into 鈥減rograms that would get them out of the jail, out of a cell, into the community, into peer-based models with clinicians on-site, and resources on-site, and permanent housing.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

鈥淲e know that that model works,鈥� he adds.

Moving Money Out of Jails

is a well-known activist who challenged longtime incumbent L.A. City Councilmember Gil Cedillo in June 2022 by running on a platform of abolishing mass incarceration鈥攁nd .

The 32-year-old points to the data illustrating that jails are a racial justice issue. 鈥淚n L.A. County, 50% of the people in the jail system are Latino, 30% 鈥� are Black,鈥� she says, adding that 鈥淏lack community members only make up about 9% of the population.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

Hernandez was part of the grassroots , which pushed for the demands of the Care First, Jails Last campaign to be codified into a ballot measure.

Responding to relentless community pressure, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors convened an Alternatives to Incarceration (ATI) work group, which in turn produced an in spring 2020, built from the consensus of thousands of stakeholders.

In fall 2020, nearly 60% of L.A. County voters , a ballot measure that came out of the ATI report. Hernandez believes Measure J 鈥渨as a groundbreaking measure, written and championed by community members and organizers,鈥� and one that 鈥渞eallocates existing general funds into community investments, alternatives to incarceration, and housing.鈥�

What鈥檚 more, Hernandez notes that Measure J 鈥渕oved 10% of locally generated tax dollars back into community 鈥� to make sure that money could go specifically to Black- and minority-owned businesses.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

Progress Amid Challenges

County supervisor was once a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and the nation鈥檚 first woman Labor Secretary (under President Barack Obama). Today, she has successfully turned part of JusticeLA鈥檚 vision into reality via a newly launched project called .

Funded through federal CARES Act money, the village, which opened in summer 2021, is a 4-acre housing facility built on the site of what was to be an expanded Men鈥檚 Central Jail. The village offers shelter to the unhoused, as well as wraparound services, including mental health care.

鈥淚nvesting in an infrastructure rooted in care is necessary to not only reduce the jail population, but to provide resources that interrupt cycles of incarceration,鈥� says Clayton-Johnson. He applauds Supervisor Solis for 鈥渄riving forward an essential model of what is needed to close Men鈥檚 Central Jail; and the promise of this model should be the basis of setting a timeline to do so.鈥�

Construction has now begun on a similar, larger project called the , part of what Solis calls a 鈥渃are first infrastructure,鈥� echoing the language used by grassroots abolition groups.

Meanwhile, the impacts of Measure J鈥檚 passage remain unclear. Although it鈥檚 been two years since the ballot measure passed, the reallocation of funds from incarceration into social service has been slow, prompting local journalist , 鈥淲hy is the current Board of Supervisors, the same one that adopted Measure J, not doing anything?鈥�

Part of the problem is that a challenging Measure J鈥檚 constitutionality has delayed implementation of the voter-backed measure. But crucially, Hernandez explains, 鈥渢he county never needed Measure J to reallocate funds鈥攕o they renamed this effort Care First Community Investment (CFCI) and continued with implementation.鈥� A outlining expenditures for the diverted funds includes money for permanent housing, education, violence prevention, job training, and youth development.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not perfect,鈥� says Hernandez of the measure she helped to realize. 鈥淏ut it has been successful in moving money to the priorities of community. It takes a while to get here, but this is just the beginning.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

Although the framed Hernandez鈥檚 win as 鈥渁 testament to the solidifying power of the city鈥檚 progressive movement,鈥� it remains to be seen if she can move the city and county to end mass incarceration when she takes her seat on the City Council in December 2022.

Waiting for Justice

鈥淚 will fight until the day I die to get justice for my son,鈥� says Terry Lovett.

She remembers how, growing up in Oakland, her son was an athlete, winning numerous trophies for basketball and football. 鈥淗e was a product of the hood,鈥� she says, and he 鈥渨ent to L.A. to pursue his rap career.鈥� She pictures him fighting for his life in his jail cell, wondering if he may have been beaten to death. She imagines him saying, 鈥淢y momma is going to get y鈥檃ll.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

In the meantime, Men鈥檚 Central Jail continues to operate鈥攁nd continues to generate disturbing reports. In September 2022, the in 鈥減sychological distress鈥� had been shackled in the inmate reception center at Twin Towers for days at a time while they awaited processing.

Conditions like those鈥攁nd the high likelihood of additional fatalities within the jail system鈥攁re just a few of the reasons abolitionists like Clayton-Johnson say, 鈥淢en鈥檚 Central Jail needs to close, and 鈥� that is not up for debate.鈥�

Sonali Kolhatkar joined 大象传媒 in summer 2021, building on a long and decorated career in broadcast and print journalism. She is an award-winning multimedia journalist, and host and creator of聽大象传媒 Presents: Rising Up with Sonali, a nationally syndicated television and radio program airing on Free Speech TV and dozens of independent and community radio stations. She is also Senior Correspondent with the Independent Media Institute鈥檚 Economy for All project where she writes a weekly column. She is the author of聽Rising Up: The Power of Narrative in Pursuing Racial Justice聽(2023) and聽Bleeding Afghanistan: Washington, Warlords, and the Propaganda of Silence聽(2005). Her forthcoming book is called聽Talking About Abolition聽(Seven Stories Press, 2025). Sonali is co-director of the nonprofit group, Afghan Women鈥檚 Mission which she helped to co-found in 2000. She has a Master鈥檚 in Astronomy from the University of Hawai鈥檌, and two undergraduate degrees in Physics and Astronomy from the University of Texas at Austin. Sonali reflects on 鈥淢y Journey From Astrophysicist to Radio Host鈥� in her 2014聽TEDx talk聽of the same name.

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