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JusticeLA
Founded2017
FoundersPatrisse Cullors, Diana Zuñiga, among others
Location
Key people
Ivette Alé, Lex Steppling, Eunisses Hernandez, Mark-Anthony Clayton-Johnson
Websitejusticelanow.org

JusticeLA is a coalition of organizations and individuals committed to stopping the expansion and growth of the Los Angeles County Jail system and replacing that system with an infrastructure of community-based care and treatment. L.A. County has the largest jail system in the world.[1]

The JusticeLA coalition includes dozens of national and local organizations including Color of Change, Critical Resistance Los Angeles, Youth Justice Coalition, American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, Black Lives Matter: Los Angeles, Center for Popular Democracy, Code Pink, Drug Policy Alliance, Liberty Tree Foundation for the Democratic Revolution, Service Employees International Union, and United Way of Greater Los Angeles, among others. Patrisse Cullors, Diana Zuñiga, and other activists based in Los Angeles co-founded JusticeLA.[2][3][1]

Opposition to L.A. County jail expansion

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L.A. County jail expansion plan

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In 2015, Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, the governing body for Los Angeles County, California, began to consider replacing Men's Central Jail with a mental health jail called "Consolidated Correctional Treatment Facility," which would be run by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.[4] L.A. County also considered building a women's jail in Lancaster.[5] The women's jail was planned to be relocated to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility, which is located eighty miles outside of Los Angeles.[1] This plan by the county came after the United States Department of Justice reached an agreement with County where its jails would be monitored with court oversight to address the treatment of people with mental illness in its jail system.[5] The federal government was increasingly concerned about the number of suicides occurring in LA County jails.[4]

In 2019, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors cancelled their plan to build a new jail and instead planned to build a mental health treatment facility. The County awarded award a contract of over two billion dollars to build the new mental health facility.[6] JusticeLA opposed and protested the building of a mental health treatment facility in the place of Men's Central Jail.

Founding of JusticeLA

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JusticeLA was formed in the Fall of 2017. For over two years, JusticeLA organized protests, public education campaigns and provided policy recommendations to stop jail expansion in L.A. County.[7][8] In September 2017, JusticeLA organized their first direct action to protest the proposed jail expansion.[9][10][11][12][13] Later in 2017, JusticeLA organized #JailBedDrop where jail beds were placed throughout L.A. County to highlight inequities in the criminal justice system.[2][14][15] During one direct action, one artist read poetry and tied dolls to the bedposts to represent each family member who had been incarcerated.[2]

JusticeLA also presented a brief to the Board in 2017 entitled "Reclaim, Reimagine and Reinvest: An Analysis of Los Angeles County’s Criminalization Budget."[16] The budget brief was critical of jail and policing expansion in L.A. County.[16]

Cancellation of jail expansion

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In February 2019, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors voted to cancel the contract to relocate the women's jail to Lancaster. JusticeLA held a rally and protest before the vote.[17]

In August 2019, the Board ultimately voted to cancel their plan to build a jail facility, called the "Mental Health Treatment Center" that would have provided mental health services.[18] L.A. County adopted the "Care First, Jail Last" approach which JusticeLA had pushed for.[18] The County created an Alternatives to Incarceration (ATI) work group. More than 230 members of the coalition attended the hearing the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration.[18] Former California State Senator Holly Mitchell said of their influence: “I give them full credit with bringing pressure to bear on a board [the county board of supervisors] that I’m not sure would have done it on their own.”[1]

MCJ closure

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In July 2020, the County created a workgroup to create plans for the closure of Men's Central Jail.[19] In March 2021, JusticeLA co-hosted a protest and rally to demand the closure of Men's Central Jail.[20]

Care First Initiatives

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In June 2020, JusticeLA presented a "Care First Budget" to the LA County Board of Supervisors. The budget called for a shift toward public health and away from policing and incarceration.[21][22] The budget would have reallocated funding from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department toward alternatives to incarceration, such as supportive housing and mental health services.[23]

JusticeLA also helped in the passage of L.A. County's Measure J. This measure requires the County to allocate millions of dollars of the County budget toward community-based social services.[1] In 2021, JusticeLA rallied and demanded that the County fully-fund Measure J.[20]

JusticeLA has advocated for the County to expand its efforts to divert people with mental illness, which would aid a reduction of the jail population and the closure of MCJ.[24]

Pretrial detention

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Prop. 25

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In 2020, the JusticeLA coalition opposed 2020 California Proposition 25, which would have eliminated the state's cash bail system.[1] The coalition took the position that the new law would have expanded the power of judges to incarcerate people pretrial and would have expanded the use of racially-biased pretrial risk assessment tools.[25] California voters rejected Proposition 25.[26]

Care First California Coalition

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JusticeLA advocates for a pretrial system that centers the Presumption of innocence, ends money bail, rejects risk assessments and dramatically reduces the number of people eligible for pretrial incarceration.[27][28] JusticeLA is a part of the Care First California Coalition which seeks to reduce policing and carceral systems statewide in California.[29] In 2021, the Care First California Coalition called on Gavin Newsom and the California legislature to reject funding for pretrial supervision programs that were designed to be run by law enforcement.[28] The coalition advocates for community-based pretrial services that are independent of probation officers and law enforcement.[28]

Artist collaboration

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JusticeLA has collaborated with artists to send a messages about the effects of mass incarceration.[2]

Suing to Save Lives

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In 2020, several celebrities collaborated with JusticeLA to create a public service announcement #SuingToSaveLives about the health of people in L.A. County jails amid the COVID-19 pandemic.[30][31] The PSA came after JusticeLA filed an emergency class-action lawsuit against the L.A. County government for failing to protect people in L.A. County jails during the pandemic.[31][32] The PSA featured Natalie Portman, Gabrielle Union, Joaquin Phoenix, Mahershala Ali, Sterling K. Brown, Kendrick Sampson, Matt McGorry, Busy Philipps, Brandon Flynn, Sophia Bush, Lauren Jauregui, Megalyn Echikunwoke, Shailene Woodley, and Dawn-Lyen Gardner. They each read a declaration from one of the currently incarcerated plaintiffs for the PSA.[31]

Rose that Grew from Concrete Vigil

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After the Murder of George Floyd, JusticeLA organized a vigil outside of Hall of Justice (Los Angeles) to remember the lives lost at the hands of law enforcement.[33] The Vigil also honored who have died in jail and the thousands of people in L.A. jails.[33] People laid flowers outside the Hall of Justice during the vigil. The idea was inspired by Tupac Shakur's poem entitled The Rose That Grew from Concrete (poetry collection).[34]

Defund The Sheriff Album

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JusticeLA, in collaboration with Schools Not Prisons, Question Culture, and Reform L.A. Jails, released the album "Defund the Sheriff," which was part of a campaign to shift funding away from incarceration and policing in L.A. County.[35][36] Contributors to the album included Aloe Blacc, Madame Gandhi, Rain Phoenix, Vic Mensa, Aja Monet, Lauren Jauregui among others.[37]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f White, Lauren Lee (2021-04-09). "'We didn't stop': the Los Angeles abolitionist coalition that's racking up victories". the Guardian. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  2. ^ a b c d "Coalition merges art and activism for holiday message about mass incarceration". Los Angeles Times. 2017-12-31. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  3. ^ "Opinion | Money can't buy criminal justice reform. But it can fuel a movement". Washington Post. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  4. ^ a b "L.A. County jail itself poses hurdle to helping mentally ill inmates". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  5. ^ a b "LA Supervisors Vote To Move Ahead With Construction Of New Downtown Jail Facility". 2015-08-11. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  6. ^ "$2.2B Jail Conversion Contract Could Be Disputed | Los Angeles Business Journal". labusinessjournal.com. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  7. ^ "'Aware of A Problem and Getting Justice For That Problem Are Two Totally Different Things' ~ Bernie Sanders, Shaun King, Patrisse Cullors in L.A." L.A. TACO. 2018-06-04. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  8. ^ "How Prison Abolitionists Are Meeting The Moment". The Appeal. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  9. ^ "'No more jails!': Downtown LA protesters rally against county construction plan". Daily News. 2017-09-26. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  10. ^ Team, Blavity. "Black Lives Matter And Other Activists Brought A Jail To Downtown LA In Prison Expansion Protest". Blavity News & Politics. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  11. ^ Finley, Taryn (2017-09-28). "Activists Block Road With 100 Prison Beds To Protest L.A. Jail Expansion". HuffPost. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  12. ^ "Protesters oppose County jail expansion". ourweekly.com. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  13. ^ "JusticeLA Coalition: Patrisse Khan-Cullors, Black Lives Matter Co-Founder, Partners With Organizations to Halt Los Angeles Jail Expansion [Retracted]". The Root. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  14. ^ "Thousands of inmates to spend Christmas in LA jail because bail is too high". Rolling Out. 2017-12-25. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  15. ^ Khan-Cullors, Patrisse. "#JailBedDrop: Los Angeles' Fight Against a Multibillion-Dollar Jail". The Root. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  16. ^ a b "Los Angeles lawmakers commit $3.5B to jails, short affordable housing budget". Rolling Out. 2017-12-13. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  17. ^ Macias, Martin Jr. (2019-02-13). "LA County Strikes Down Plans for Women's and Mental Health Jail". Courthouse News Service. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  18. ^ a b c Macias, Martin Jr. (2019-08-14). "LA County Cancels Mental Health Jail Project in Favor of "Care First" Approach". Courthouse News Service. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  19. ^ "The Complicated Path to Men's Central Jail Closure Outlined in Workgroup's New Report |". Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  20. ^ a b McAboy, Koco (2021-03-29). "Los Angeles rally demands closure of Men's Central Jail and full funding for 'Measure J'". FOX 11. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  21. ^ "JusticeLA Coalition to Present a "Care First" Budget". spectrumnews1.com. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  22. ^ "Policing Los Angeles: The Forces At Work And The Scope Of Their Power". LAist. 2021-04-20. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  23. ^ "The Pervasive Violence of the L.A. County Sheriff's Department". The Appeal. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  24. ^ "How LA County Will Treat More People With Mental Illness Outside Of Jail". LAist. 2021-03-23. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  25. ^ "Coalition Opposes California Proposition 25". Human Rights Watch. 2020-10-12. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  26. ^ "Prop 25 Fails: California Voters Reject Initiative To Replace Cash Bail System". LAist. 2020-11-04. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  27. ^ "Opinion: Proposition 25's failure gives legislators opportunity to reform cash bail system". Daily Bruin. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  28. ^ a b c Davis, The People's Vanguard of Davis PO Box 4715 (2021-06-08). "CA Legislature Rejects Gov's Faulty Plan to Boost Pretrial Pilot Programs; Coalition Urges 'Community-based Pretrial Services'". Davis Vanguard. Retrieved 2021-06-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  29. ^ "Care First CA – Preserving the Presumption of Innocence". Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  30. ^ Moniuszko, Sara M. "Natalie Portman, Gabrielle Union and Joaquin Phoenix join all-star PSA for jail reform amid COVID-19". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  31. ^ a b c Perez, Lexy (2020-09-24). "Natalie Portman, Gabrielle Union, Joaquin Phoenix Lead #SuingToSaveLives PSA for COVID-19 Response Coalition (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  32. ^ "Coronavirus: Suit filed against LA County and Sheriff's Department for allegedly failing to protect inmates". Daily News. 2020-04-25. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  33. ^ a b Echavarri, Fernanda. "A Rose That Grew From Concrete: Protesters Leave Flowers to Commemorate Those Who've Died at the Hands of Police". Mother Jones. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  34. ^ Hayes, Rob (2020-06-06). "Activists place thousands of roses outside Hall of Justice in downtown LA, call for criminal justice reform". ABC7 Los Angeles. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  35. ^ Blistein, Jon (2020-07-21). "Aloe Blacc, Vic Mensa Contribute to 'Defund the Sheriff' Benefit Compilation". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  36. ^ "Aloe Blacc, Vic Mensa and more feature on new album 'Defund the Sheriff'". NME. 2020-07-22. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  37. ^ "Vic Mensa, Lauren Jauregui and More Unite on 'Defund the Sheriff'". PAPER. 2020-07-21. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
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