Fixing LAs Jails

Patrisse Cullors, Coalition to End Sheriff Violence in L.A. Jails Peter Laarman, Justice Not Jails Esther Lim, American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California Jails Project

Beyond Realignment

Finding Solutions to Jail Overcrowding and Inmate Abuse That Dont Involve New Jail Construction

Tuesday, July 9, 2013 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Neighborhood Church 301 N. Orange Grove Blvd Pasadena, California

The event is free and open to the public. Contact: aclupasadena@yahoo.com, 213.434.4643

Beyond Realignment: Fixing LAs Jails

Finding Solutions to Jail Overcrowding and Inmate Abuse That Dont Involve New Jail Construction

What: ACLU-SC Pasadena-Foothills Chapter Public Forum When: Tuesday, July 9, 7 p.m. Where: Neighborhood Church, 301 N. Orange Grove Blvd, Pasadena Los Angeles -- 8 June 2013: Jail reform advocates and community activists cheered the 2011 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that found overcrowding at California prisons tantamount to cruel and unusual punishment, citing inmate suicide rates 80 precent higher than anywhere else in the nation. Expecting this decision to lead to a reduction in the states massive prison population with sentencing reform and the early release of nonviolent inmates, they were chagrined to find that the state legislatures response, AB 109, simply pushes thousands of offendersfelons whose most recent offenses were non-violent, non-serious, nonsexualto county jails. Last year, 11,136 such state prisoners were released back to Los Angeles County for housing. In response, Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca has proposed a $1.4-billion jail construction project that would ease overcrowding at Mens Central Jail, create what has been dubbed a thousand-bed womens village in Castaic, and prevent the early release of prisoners -- even though the LA County jail system has thousands of unused beds. Community groups who work to reintegrate the formerly incarcerated back into society have pushed back. Im concerned that the Sheriffs Department pays lip service to community-based alternatives but is still overwhelmingly focused on protecting its turf, keeping its budget, and replicating the failed state prison model right here in LA County, says Rev. Peter Laarman, whose Justice Not Jails project serves as a clearinghouse for countywide reintegration and sentencing reform efforts. At the July 9th ACLU-SC Pasadena/Foothills forum, Laarman will be joined by Patrisse Cullors, whose Coalition to End Sheriffs Violence in LA Jails agitates to create civilian oversight of the Sheriffs Department, and Esther Lim, whose ACLU Jails Project monitors conditions of confinement and medical care across the countys jail system to insure that a basic standard of care is delivered to prisoners. The event is free and open to the public. For more info, contact Sharon Kyle, Communications Chair, ACLU-SC Pasadena/Foothills Chapter, aclupasadena@yahoo or 213.434.4643.