Men's Central Jail

Men's Central Jail (MCJ)

Location	Los Angeles, California
Coordinates	34°03′32″N 118°13′56″W / 34.0590°N 118.2321°WCoordinates: 34°03′32″N 118°13′56″W / 34.0590°N 118.2321°W
Status	Operational
Security class	Minimum - Maximum
Capacity	5,276
Population	17,000[1]
Opened	1963
Managed by	Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
Director	Ralph G. Ornelas, Captain

Men's Central Jail is a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department county jail for men in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, United States. Built in 1963, it is one of the oldest county jails in California. The Men's Central Jail is located at 441 Bauchet St., Los Angeles 90012. The Men's Central Jail houses men who are awaiting trial or who have been convicted of crimes.

The Men's Central Jail is considered one of the largest jails in the world.^{[2][3][4][5][6][7][8]} In May 2013, along with the adjacent Twin Towers Correctional Facility, Men's Central Jail ranked as one of the ten worst prisons in the United States, based on reporting in Mother Jones magazine.^[9]

Construction and population

The construction of the Men's Central Jail started in 1960 and was finished in 1963. The original building was designed to house 3,323 inmates.^[10] In 1976, an addition was added to the structure at the cost of $35 million,^[11] and by December 1990, inmate capacity was 5,276.^[12]

Men's Central Jail has severe overcrowding.^[13][14][15] In June 2015, the inmate population was about 17,000^[1] and in March 1997, the inmate population was about 13,000.^[16]

Notable inmates

• Chris Brown, recording artist^[17]
• Suge Knight^[18][19]
• Todd Bridges, actor, Diff'rent Strokes^[20]
• Sean Penn, actor^[21]
• Kelsey Grammer, actor^[22][23]
• Richard Pryor, comedian^[22]
• Tommy Lee, Mötley Crüe's drummer^[22]
• Scott Weiland^[22]
• Erik Menendez^[23]
• Richard Ramirez^[22]
• O.J. Simpson^[24]
• Shorty Rossi, reality TV personality, Pit Boss^[25]
• Phil Spector^[26]

Services

Men’s Central Jail provides some services to its inmates. Inmates can attend self-help classes on domestic violence, alcohol abuse, and substance abuse. Religious services are provided to inmates in the wake of several ACLU lawsuits.^[27][28] Select inmates now (2004) can earn a GED while incarcerated.^[29]

Violence and lawsuits

The ACLU has sued Men's Central Jail for major civil rights violations.^{[30][31][32][33][34]} The United States Department of Justice has also sued the Men's Central Jail.^{[35][36][37][38]}

In 2013, federal prosecutors charged 18 Sheriff's Officers with excessive use of force.^{[39][40][41][42]} In June 2015, Los Angeles Sheriff's Deputies were found guilty of beating a handcuffed man at the Men's Central Jail.^{[43][44][45][46]}

References

1. Abby Sewell (9 June 2015). "County supervisors vote to reconsider size of new Men's Central Jail". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
2. "County Supervisors Vote to Reconsider Size of New Men's Central Jail - KTLA". KTLA. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
3. Jennifer Medina (September 28, 2011). "Report Details Wide Abuse in Los Angeles Jail System". The New York Times. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
4. Don Thompson, Associated Press. "Infographic: County jail populations across California dip after Prop 47 - 89.3 KPCC". Southern California Public Radio. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
5. Ani Ucar. "Inside the Gay Wing of Men's Central Jail - L.A. Weekly". LA Weekly. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
6. "Cell breakouts, attacks 'easy' in outdated Men's Central Jail". ABC7 Los Angeles. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
7. Los Angeles Times (9 June 2015). "County supervisors vote to reconsider size of new Men's Central Jail". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
8. "At least one inmate stabbed in riot at Los Angeles jail". Reuters. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
9. James Ridgeway and Jean Casella (8 May 2013). "America's 10 Worst Prisons: LA County". Mother Jones. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
10. Southern California Public Radio. "LA's Men's Central Jail plagued by overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, violence". Southern California Public Radio. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
11. "Upkeep is proving costly as Men's Central Jail shows its age". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
12. "L.A. COUNTY'S CENTRAL JAIL : Overcrowding and Age Burden Facility". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
13. "ACLU Criticizes Jail Overcrowding". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
14. "Men's Central Jail overcrowding crisis could cost $1.7 billion to fix". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
15. Troy Anderson (15 April 2009). "ACLU calls Men's Central Jail a dungeon, seeks closure". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
16. "ACLU Demands Meeting as Jail Crowding Soars". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
17. "Chris Brown Ordered to Remain in Jail". People. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
18. "Suge Knight is released from jail". Entertainment Weekly's EW.com. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
19. "Suge Knight's Attorney Claims Rapper's Jail Conditions Worse than GITMO - Breitbart". Breitbart. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
20. "Mistrial Declared in Bridges' Assault Case". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
21. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/16/us/a-celebrity-home-that-s-not-on-the-star-maps.html
22. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/16/us/a-celebrity-home-that-s-not-on-the-star-maps.html
23. "The Party's Over". People. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
24. "Room 7201: celebrity confinement California style". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
25. "Four Feet Tall and Rising". google.com. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
26. http://www.neontommy.com/2009/04/aclu-urges-supervisors-to-clos. Missing or empty |title= (help)
27. Thomas Himes (28 March 2014). "ACLU says Muslim inmates in L.A. jails not treated equally". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
28. Cindy Chang (26 July 2014). "Under new rules, Muslim inmates in L.A. County jails observe Ramadan". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
29. James Ricci (7 April 2004). "Gay Jail Inmates Get Chance to Learn". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
30. "ACLU report: L.A.'s Men's Central Jail 'nightmarish'". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
31. "L.A. County Sheriff's Department sued by ACLU". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
32. Southern California Public Radio. "ACLU: LA County jail guards perpetuate violence". Southern California Public Radio. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
33. Chris Vogel. "Men's County Jail Visitor Viciously Beaten by Guards". LA Weekly. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
34. "LA County Jails". American Civil Liberties Union. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
35. Southern California Public Radio. "Source: LA Sheriff agrees to new reforms at jails, settles civil DOJ lawsuit". Southern California Public Radio. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
36. Southern California Public Radio. "Los Angeles County's jails operating under unconstitutional conditions, says Justice Department". Southern California Public Radio. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
37. "FBI investigating reports of beatings in Los Angeles County jails". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
38. "LA County Settles Civil Rights Case With DOJ - Al Jazeera America". Al Jazeera America. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
39. Robert Faturechi and Jack Leonard (9 December 2013). "18 Los Angeles sheriff's officials indicted, accused of abuse, obstruction". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
40. Jennifer Medina (December 9, 2013). "U.S. Charges 18 Sheriff's Officers in Inquiry Into Misconduct at Los Angeles Jails". The New York Times. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
41. Erica E. Phillips (2 July 2014). "Six L.A. Sheriff's Officers Found Guilty of Obstructing Justice". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
42. "18 L.A. County deputies charged in civil rights, corruption probe". FOX6Now. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
43. Associated Press (June 24, 2015). "Los Angeles Sheriff's Deputies Found Guilty in Jail Beating". The New York Times. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
44. "Three L.A. County Deputies Convicted in Beating of Jail Visitor". KTLA. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
45. Los Angeles Times (17 June 2015). "Ex-deputy: L.A. County sheriff's deputies beat jail visitor, then lied". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
46. "Three Deputy Sheriffs Found Guilty of Federal Civil Rights Offense in Beating of Visitor at Downtown Los Angeles Jail". United States Department of Justice. Retrieved 4 August 2015.

External links

• Men's Central Jail, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Dept.