On Monday, the ACLU filed a motion asking a federal judge to find Los Angeles County, the Board of Supervisors, and Sheriff Robert Luna in contempt of court for “failing to comply” with court orders to improve “abysmal” conditions in the county’s detention facility.
Lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union claimed in a filing in Los Angeles federal court that inmates with mental illness were chained to chairs for days at a time, and that others were forced to sleep head-to-foot on concrete floors.
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This is the latest step in a long line of federal interventions into the largest correctional institution in the country.
Attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) who visited the center at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in downtown Los Angeles at the end of 2017 reported unsanitary conditions, including trash-strewn floors, overflowing sinks and toilets, a lack of access to showers or clean clothing for days, and an insufficient supply of food and water.
The civil rights organization further alleges that the facility is negligent in providing adequate medical care by, among other things, failing to provide medication to those who need it for serious mental illness or chronic medical conditions and failing to provide care to those who are dangerously detoxing from drugs and alcohol.
The jails in Los Angeles County are managed by the Sheriff’s Department. Due to ongoing litigation, a department spokesperson stated, “We are unable to comment at this time.”
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The court issued a permanent injunction in September to assist with the transfer of mentally ill detainees and others from the inmate reception center to safe housing within 24 hours.
In a court statement submitted on Monday, the ACLU alleged that “the evidence undeniably reveals the IRC yet again suffers long delays in processing and intake of detainees, and persons continue to suffer serious deprivations while in awful conditions.”
The ACLU also claims to have learned of more “IRC overflow” units dispersed throughout the facility “where conditions are nearly as miserable as in the IRC, but people languishing there do not show up in data reports” necessary for compliance with the order.
“The simple issue is that Defendants are significantly out of compliance with the (injunction) and previous rulings,” the ACLU statement argues.
The civil rights organization has asked the presiding judge in the case, U.S. District Judge Dean Pregerson, to find the county, the sheriff, and the Board of Supervisors in civil contempt and to impose a punishment if they fail to comply with the court’s instructions.
There will be a hearing on March 20 in federal court in Los Angeles to discuss the situation.
Since a federal judge’s 1978 ruling in the ACLU SoCal case Rutherford v. Pitchess, which found several circumstances in LA County jails to violate the constitutional rights of those detained, the courts have been monitoring these facilities.
Formerly, the deputy director of the ACLU National Prison Project, Corene Kendrick, remarked, “The L.A. County Jail system is a national disgrace.”
For nearly half a century, judges have ensured that inmates at this facility have access to basic necessities including clean water, adequate medical care, and fundamental human dignity. “Enough is enough.”
When persons are arrested by the police, they are brought to the reception center where they will wait to be booked and sent to a different institution.
According to the American Civil Liberties Union, many of those being held there are either homeless or suffer from severe mental illness.
