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Supervisors to hear $700 million jail-building plan

By Jason Siegel

A $672 million jail-building plan will be proposed to supervisors next week, urged by criticism of Los Angeles prison overcrowding and inmate violence, the Daily News reports.

Under the plan, Downtown's Men's Central Jail would be closed, the Sybil Brand Institute would be demolished and four new jails, each with over 1,000 beds would be constructed. About a third of the funding would come from money already set aside, the other $491 million would come from commercial bonds. The plan would also send many inmates to drug treatment programs and offer alternatives to prison.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California said that the Men's Central Jail should have already been closed.

"Conditions there are so unsafe and inhumane for inmates and deputies alike," Melinda Bird, senior counsel for the ACLU-SC, told the Daily News.

Los Angeles Federal Judge Dean Pregerson called for a series of reforms as a result of a decades old ACLU case and order a panel of county and ACLU officials to deal with problems at the jail.

State lawmakers consider shifting supervision of state prison parolees to counties

The state legislature is considering a plan to put 70,000 non-violent state prison parolees under the supervision of counties to give them better access to local rehabilitation programs and save an estimated $500,000,000, KPCC Public Radio reports (LISTEN).
 

Full post as published by Legal Pad | LA on March 13, 2008 (boomark / email).