Rally to Demand Accountability for Deaths in O.C. Jails

SANTA ANA — A rally calling for transparency and accountability for deaths in Orange County jails will be held Friday, May 31, outside the Orange County Sheriff's Department (OCSD) headquarters. The rally comes after the most recent death in OCSD custody — on May 14, Anthony Aceves was found in his cell at the Theo Lacy Facility in Orange with "no obvious signs of trauma" according to an OCSD spokesperson.

There is a highly disturbing history of deaths in O.C. jails. Last year a grand jury issued a study, "Preventable Deaths in Orange County Jails," that found 44 percent of deaths in the jails from 2014 to 2017 could have been prevented by timely and adequate medical care. In 2017, the ACLU SoCal released a report that documented violent, abusive, and unhealthy conditions in the O.C. jails system.

WHAT: Rally to demand transparency and accountability for deaths in O.C. jails, sponsored by California Families Against Solitary Confinement, the Orange County Racial Justice Collaborative, and the ACLU Foundation of Southern California.

WHEN: Friday, May 31 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

WHERE: Outside the Intake Release Center
938-998 W 6th St.
Santa Ana, CA

WHO: Speakers to include:

• Diana Alvarez (mother of Anthony Aceves);
• Dolores Canales, co-founder of California Families Against Solitary Confinement;
• Daisy Ramirez, jails conditions and policy coordinator at the ACLU SoCal; and
• Other impacted family members.

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• "Preventable Deaths in Orange County Jails" report: http://www.ocgrandjury.org/pdfs/2017_2018_GJreport/2018-06-25_GJ_Jail_Deaths_Report.pdf
• ACLU SoCal report on conditions in O.C. jails: https://www.aclusocal.org/en/press-releases/aclu-report-finds-inhuman-violent-conditions-orange-county-jails