Hundreds Die Amid Horrifying Conditions In LA County Jails, CA Attorney General Claims In Lawsuit

LOS ANGELES, CA — California Attorney General Rob Bonta says California is suing the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and its sheriff for what he dubbed a "humanitarian crisis" inside the region's jails at a news conference on Monday morning.

"People are dying,” Bonta told reporters.

An investigation by Bonta’s office found inmates housed in overcrowded, “filthy” cells with broken and overflowing toilets, infestations of rats and roaches, no clean water for drinking or bathing, and meals that were spoiled, moldy and nutritionally inadequate, his office announced Monday.

LA operates the largest jail system in the U.S., but Bonta says it is one of the "most problematic."

"When we’re talking about feces smeared on the walls and medical care denied to those in need, we’re talking about a disrespect for the basic dignity of our fellow humans and a violation of their most fundamental constitutional rights," Bonta said Monday morning. "We’re confident the court will agree."

The probe into the department first began in 2021, when Bonta's office began looking into whether LASD had engaged in a pattern or practice of unconstitutional policing.

Over the past four years, there have been around 205 in-custody deaths, Bonta said at a news conference on Monday. Forty percent of those deaths were the result of homicide, suicide and overdose.

While Bonta says he has called on LA Sheriff Robert Luna to reform the jail system, he says those calls have gone mostly unanswered, save for a few reforms to patrol operations.

"We’re going to court because we have no other choice — we will not let Los Angeles County continue to ignore its responsibility to the health, safety, and well-being of the individuals under its care," Bonta said.

Under Sheriff Luna, Bonta says the number of preventable deaths inside the jails has continued to climb.

"The lack of access to medical and mental health care also leaves incarcerated persons woefully ill-equipped to re-enter society at large and hinders any meaningful rehabilitation of those serving sentences," he said.

Bonta is demanding that Los Angeles County, the Sheriff’s Department and Correctional Health Services implement sweeping reforms, including:

• Providing constitutionally adequate medical, dental, and mental health care
• Protecting incarcerated people from unreasonable risk of harm
• Ensuring jails are habitable, humane and safe
• Respecting the dignity and health of inmates
• Addressing medical requests promptly and fully
• Offering accommodations and equal access for people with disabilities
• Expanding multilingual services for those with limited English proficiency

The lawsuit, which was filed on Monday, points out that LASD jails have long been under court monitoring.

The county’s troubled jail system has been under legal scrutiny for decades. In 1975, the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California filed a federal class-action lawsuit on behalf of incarcerated people to challenge unlawful conditions in Los Angeles County jails. The case — now known as Rutherford v. Luna to reflect the current sheriff — led to court oversight beginning in 1979 and continues to this day. Under a stipulated order issued in June 2023, the Rutherford case now focuses on overcrowding and the resulting conditions inside the system’s Reception Center.

The state’s lawsuit comes as Los Angeles County continues to grapple with efforts to shutter and replace Men’s Central Jail in downtown L.A., where inspectors have long documented dangerous and unsanitary conditions. According to the Los Angeles Times, there was a recent incident in which jailers were allegedly distracted by an “explicit video” while a noose hung in a cell.

Officials have said the jail remains difficult to close because of chronic overcrowding. Meanwhile, in-custody deaths are mounting — 36 so far this year, or about one a week, according to county data cited by the Times.

Inmates have resorted to setting fires in rooms without smoke alarms — not to cause disruption, but to cook food and make up for cold, inedible meals. Most detainees, many of them recently arrested and awaiting trial, have been left to sleep on urine-soaked floors, using trash bags for blankets, without reliable access to medications or working plumbing.

In 2022, the American Civil Liberties Union described the jail’s conditions as "medieval" and "barbaric."