Failures in medical treatment and care signal neglect and lack of accountability.
SANTA ANA – Today, the ACLU of Southern California released a report that examines more than a decade of in-custody deaths in the Orange County jail system, relying on stories of individuals who suffered from medical neglect and endemic lack of care in the jails.
“I’m Getting Weaker as Each Day Passes: An Analysis of Death and Dying in Orange County Jails” includes firsthand details from people who died in custody and is based on internal O.C. Sheriff’s Department records and cross-referenced with O.C. District Attorney investigations.
Between 2010 and 2021—the timeframe of the report—at least 119 people died while incarcerated in the O.C. jails. The death rate in O.C. jails has remained high in recent years, with at least eight people dying in custody in 2025.
The report includes the following key findings:
- The most common circumstances for death in custody were issues related to the jails’ intake “triage” process, suicide, physical violence, substance use, and medical neglect.
- Of the 119 people in the dataset, at least 60 (half of the sample) died within a month of booking. Of those, at least 35 died within a week of booking.
- The OCDA did not find OCSD at fault for any of the 119 deaths in the data set.
“Jails are especially unsafe for people who need medical or mental health care, and yet Orange County jails are filled with precisely those individuals,” said Jacob Reisberg, senior policy counsel at the ACLU SoCal. “The most effective way to prevent in-custody deaths is to reduce reliance on incarceration and invest instead in community-based treatment, housing, and support systems that keep people alive.”
The report concludes with the following recommendations:
- Depopulation. The county should focus on reducing jail populations to lessen risk of preventable deaths from overdose, medical neglect, and suicide.
- Diversion. The county should prioritize pretrial release, community-based treatment for substance use and mental health needs, and investment in supportive housing rather than jail expansion.
Read the report: https://www.aclusocal.org/publications/an-analysis-of-death-and-dying-in-orange-county-jails/
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