TAKE ACTION AGAINST JAIL EXPANSION IN LA!
February 12th will be a critical day in the history of the Los Angeles jail fight. The LA County Board of Supervisors have shown considerable movement over the last few weeks to stop the planned jail construction. On February 12th, they will reopen the conversation around the jail plan.
FEBRUARY 12 – TURN OUT WITH JUSTICE LA
When: 10am rally then testify to the Board of Supervisors
Where: 500 W Temple St, Los Angeles, California 90012
FEBRUARY 5th – TESTIFY AGAINST MORE JAILS
We are also calling people out on February 5th to provide testimony. There will not be a rally on this day. Public comment will likely be sometime between 10am-1pm. Contact justicelanow[at]gmail.
NOW is the time to put pressure on the supervisors and the sheriff to reject both the women’s jail (Mira Loma) and the mental health jail (CCTF). Check out the below action steps and forward this email to your friends, neighbors, and comrades.
Sign the Justice LA Petition on Color of ChangeWhy should health workers speak out?
The previously approved LA County jail plan poses a significant and urgent threat to the health of those most criminalized, including Black and Latinx people across Los Angeles. The county is already home to the largest mental health facility in the country, Twin Towers jail. Eighty percent of the current jail system population is either Black or Latinx and an alarming 70% of the current jail population reports having a serious medical, mental health disability, or substance use condition. Over one thousand people per year die in local jails across the country. Half of all deaths of people incarcerated in local jails are the result of some type of illness including heart disease, liver disease, and cancer.
As the largest jails system in the world, the Los Angeles County jail system contributes to all of these trends as reported by incarcerated people, their families, and by health workers themselves who provide services in the jails and as loved ones return home. Expansion of the function, scope, geography, or size of the current jail system will continue to result in both the reproduction of these harmful trends and/or the reliance of law enforcement contact and justice system involvement for what has historically proven to be inadequate and harmful “treatment.”
Sample email or call script:
Personalized emails that note your investment in this issue are best.Thank you for demonstrating a commitment to reexamining jail construction in our county. I am a resident of _____ district. I urge you to continue to provide strong leadership by immediately opposing all jail construction in LA County, building long-term solutions that decriminalize and divert people from jail, implementing community-based alternatives to incarceration, and funding life sustaining resources.
Supervisor Contact Information:
- HILDA L SOLIS, (213) 974-4111, E-mail: firstdistrict@bos.
lacounty.gov - MARK RIDLEY-THOMAS, (213) 974-2222 Email: SecondDistrict@bos.
lacounty.gov - SHEILA KUEHL, (213) 974-3333, Email: sheila@bos.lacounty.gov
- JANICE HAHN, (213) 974-4444, Email: fourthdistrict@bos.
lacounty.gov - KATHRYN BARGER, (213) 974-
5555, Email: Kathryn@bos. lacounty.gov