Activists Demand Closure of LA County Jail, Barbaric Conditions

FEATURING MARK-ANTHONY CLAYTON-JOHNSON. For years, Los Angeles County Men’s Central Jail has been plagued with problems. One of California’s oldest jails, Men’s Central is part of the world’s largest jail system with an average daily population of up to 20,000. The reports of violence against people being held at Men’s Central are so disturbing that they have been dubbed “barbaric.” The County Board of Supervisors, which has adopted a “Care First, Jails Last” approach at the insistence of activists, is now under fire for dragging its feet in closing down the jail, and even reversing its position by considering a new jail facility for the mentally ill.

For more information, visit www.dignityandpowernow.org and www.justicelanow.org.