![]() The coalition demanded that the Alameda County Board of Supervisors investigate jail deaths and provide over $50 million for mental health services that were promised but have yet to be implemented. The resolution also called for creating a community-led process to establish behavioral/mental health care and social services. “At a certain point there is something called compassion, and we are sorely missing it as a society, particularly when it comes to Black and brown folks.”Īdvocates with the Care First Community Coalition pushed for the "Care First, Jails Last" policy resolution that was adopted by Alameda County in 2021, which set goals for law enforcement agencies in the county to stop the practice of arresting and jailing people dealing with mental health and/or substance use issues. “In the event that I'm out of control with a drug habit, should you take me to a drug program or should you take me to jail?” said Dorsey Nunn, executive director of the nonprofit Legal Services for Prisoners With Children. Dorsey Nunn, executive director of Legal Services for Prisoners With Children, speaks to a crowd of demonstrators in front of Santa Rita Jail. While some of the deaths have been attributed by jail officials to suspected fentanyl overdoses, protesters say the majority generally were caused by people not getting the care they needed (whether for mental illness or substance use disorder) in the facility. ![]() Demonstrators lay 66 painted signs on the plaza in front of the jail, each bearing the name of a person who died in the jail over the last decade. During the rally, protestors read the names of those who had died in the jail over the last nine years. The facility was placed under federal supervision in 2022 for at least six years to improve conditions for those experiencing mental illness. They should not have been incarcerated at Santa Rita Jail.” “They died after being evaluated … even though there were multiple red flags. “All four of those people died needlessly within days of their intake,” said Joy George with Restore Oakland, a community advocacy group. So far this year, there have been four deaths at Santa Rita Jail. Currently, there are 10 active positive COVID-19 cases, according to the Alameda County Sheriff’s website, which is updated daily.The Dublin-based jail is not only one of the largest detention facilities in the United States, it is also one of the most notorious, where major health and safety violations have been reported and where over 66 people have lost their lives since 2014. ![]() It is also the East Bay’s only federal jail. Santa Rita Jail, the county’s only adult detention facility, currently houses around 2,100 inmates, most of whom have pending charges and are therefore legally considered innocent. Shriro’s motion doesn’t involve clients of the public defender’s office, which has its own internal system for facilitating video visits. He later added, “This problem is made worse by difficulties with the technology that frequently require the participants in either a video call or a call from the tablet to speak very loudly and enunciate extremely clearly in order to be understood at all.”Īfter attorneys with the county file a response, a superior court judge is expected to rule on the petition. However, the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) will not transport inmates to a private location where they can have a conversation without being overheard by their cellmates and other inmates in nearby cells,” Shriro wrote. “I have been assured that calls to attorneys are not recorded. He cited multiple instances from his own cases where the inability to meet privately with a client has had a “dramatic impact,” adding that clients are often reluctant to discuss their case unless they’re confident no one else is eavesdropping. Jail staff have attempted to mitigate the problem by allowing for phone visits and video chats on tablet devices, but Shriro’s petition calls into question whether those are truly confidential. ![]() After the 14 days are up, many local attorneys have refused to visit the jail out of fear that they will catch the virus, leading to further complications. The problem is two-fold, according to a legal petition filed this week by attorney Daniel Shriro: for the first 14 days after they’re arrested, people incarcerated at Santa Rita are placed on quarantine and disallowed from meeting face-to-face with their attorneys. DUBLIN - Attorneys for Alameda County have been given 15 days to respond to allegations by a local attorney that COVID-19 restrictions at Santa Rita Jail are impeding on lawyers’ ability to hold private meetings with their clients. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |