We welcome the Sheriff’s decision, but what took so long?

In response to a statement by Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca that he accepts and will make reforms based on last week’s report released by the Citizen’s Commission on Jails Violence, Peter Eliasberg, legal director of the ACLU of Southern California, issued the following statement:
“We’re pleased that Sheriff Baca has accepted and agreed to implement the recommendations from the Citizens Commission. We at the ACLU of Southern California have been making many of the same recommendations for years. We look forward to working with him on the swift implementation of these much needed reforms. Over the past few years, we’ve spoken with hundreds of inmates with stories so similar they’re impossible to ignore -- because they’re so common. We intend to hold Sheriff Baca to his word to make sure he implements these vital recommendations for the benefit of inmates, their families and the community as a whole, as well as the many committed and dedicated sheriff’s department personnel whose reputations have unfortunately been tarnished by the misdeeds of their colleagues.”