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JUSTICE UNDONE - Just one week after approving $4.1 million in Sheriff’s Department-related settlements and acknowledging 16 in-custody deaths in 2025 alone, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is once again entertaining a controversial proposal: building a new jail facility under the direction of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department (LASD).
On April 8, 2025, the Board convened to hear from the newly formed Jail Closure Implementation Team about plans to shut down the notorious Men’s Central Jail (MCJ). But instead of committing to closure without replacement, as demanded by voters who approved Measure J and called for Care First community investments, the Board is now weighing a revived jail construction plan.
The new proposal—backed by Sheriff Robert Luna and rebranded as a “Care Campus”—was met with fierce public backlash. JusticeLA and numerous advocacy groups filled the April 8 and April 15 meetings, warning that any facility operated by LASD, regardless of its name, would function as a jail and perpetuate abuse.
Public Outcry at the April 8 Meeting
Alison Rubinfeld of the Loyola Anti-Racism Center and Check the Sheriff Coalition called out the Sheriff's rebranding effort:
“We certainly do not need LASD's proposed Care Campus. This is a jail by another name... LASD cannot be trusted to care for our most vulnerable residents in our streets, in a jail, or in a care campus.”
Saharra White, of Dignity and Power Now, echoed the sentiment:
"Lindsey [Horvath], you stated earlier that the core mission is to get the jail closed. But you forgot the second half: without opening a new jail... They're murderers."
The Human Cost
Janet Asante, representing JusticeLA, put the crisis into stark perspective:
“When we release a statement on the in-custody death crisis here in LA County, it’s outdated within a week. We’re seeing at least one person die every six days in LASD custody.”
Roberta, a mother with a son incarcerated at MCJ, described the conditions:
“He rarely if ever sees daylight... The treatment my son receives is the forced administration of medication. He has witnessed horrors no human being should witness.”
Multi-Billion Dollar Settlements & Accountability Crisis
While the Board continues to explore financing for a new LASD-run facility, the County faces mounting legal exposure—including what could become the largest settlement in LA history ($4 billion) related to child abuse in the Probation Department.
Steph Luna, aunt of Anthony Vargas—killed by alleged LASD deputy gang members—addressed the April 8 meeting as the Board considered a settlement in his case:
“Families like mine don't want payouts—we want justice... You cannot keep paying off families while keeping killers on the payroll.”
Despite escalating costs, public outrage, and a clear mandate from voters to invest in community-based alternatives, LA County may be headed toward repeating history—rebuilding what the public has repeatedly demanded be dismantled.
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