Prison Law Office and Disability Rights California find probable cause of abuse and neglect of people with disabilities in the nation's largest jail system
October 29, 2026:
LOS ANGELES — The Prison Law Office and Disability Rights California today released the findings of their investigation into the Los Angeles County jail system. The investigation found systemic failures in medical care that put people at serious risk of harm, including death. It also found heavy reliance on solitary confinement in conditions among the most severe and isolating the organizations have seen in any California jail or prison.
The organizations found probable cause to believe that abuse or neglect of people with disabilities has or may have occurred in the jails. Their findings are detailed in a letter to Los Angeles County.
Los Angeles County runs the largest jail system in the United States. On any given day, it holds about 12,500 people—more than its rated capacity—and it books around 60,000 people each year. The investigation included visits to six jail facilities in August 2025 and May 2026, interviews with dozens of incarcerated people, meetings with custody and healthcare leadership, and a review of County policies and the medical records of people who died in custody.
“We found a healthcare system that fails people at nearly every step, from the moment they are booked to the moment they need emergency care, and a housing system that leaves hundreds of people locked alone in their cells for days at a time,” said Margot Mendelson, Executive Director of the Prison Law Office. “These are not isolated lapses. They are systemic failures, and they are contributing to preventable deaths. The County must act now.”
Systemic Failures in Medical Care
In 2025, 46 people died in custody in the Los Angeles County jails. Although the Sheriff's Department and Correctional Health Services committed to reducing in-custody deaths, another 34 people have died in custody so far this year.
The organizations’ investigation found deficiencies in nearly every basic component of the jails’ healthcare system. Requests for medical care often go unanswered. Jail healthcare leadership reported months-long delays in scheduling necessary medical appointments. Serious medical conditions are missed at intake, chronic diseases are not managed under standardized protocols, and hospital discharge instructions are not reliably followed.
The organizations also found that the jails’ medical records cannot be relied upon to show what care patients actually received. Staff routinely record refusals of care and missed medication doses without confirming where the patient is; in one case, a nurse documented giving medication to a patient who had died at the hospital hours earlier.
The investigation also found failures in urgent and emergency care. The jails' urgent care unit is at times understaffed, and emergency responses are inconsistent. Shortages of custody escorts and vehicles have delayed hospital transports by hours, and in some cases by more than a day. Many patients are examined in hallways, at cell fronts, or inside occupied cells, without privacy or proper equipment.
Prolonged, Extreme Solitary Confinement
The investigation found that the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department relies too heavily on solitary confinement, or “restrictive housing,” to manage its population. The County’s classification system is overly complicated, restrictive, and subjective, with criteria so vague that virtually anyone in the jail could be placed in isolation. During the May 2026 visit, more than 600 people were classified for restrictive housing. The County does not track how long people stay in restrictive housing, and many people reported spending months or even years there.
Conditions in these units are severe. Many people at Men’s Central Jail reported leaving their cells only once a week, for one to three hours, to exercise alone in a small outdoor cage. That means they spend well over 100 consecutive hours in their cells at a time. Staff confirmed that the jails cannot provide the 10 hours of weekly out-of-cell time that state regulations require. People reported leaking toilets, months without hot water, insect infestations, and mold. Disciplinary housing, which can be imposed for nonviolent conduct such as insubordination, is even more isolating: people may spend up to 29 days confined to their cells except for brief showers.
“The conditions we observed in Los Angeles County's restrictive housing units are among the most isolating we have seen anywhere in California,” said Managing Attorney Patrick Booth of the Prison Law Office. “People are locked in their cells for days at a time with nothing to do and no clear path out. Prolonged isolation causes profound and lasting harm, and it is unlawful. Our work in other California counties shows that jails can sharply reduce their use of solitary confinement while keeping facilities safe. Los Angeles County can and must do the same.”
A Call for Prompt Action
The organizations urged the County to take prompt action to address the deficiencies identified in their letter and to bring the jails in line with basic legal and humanitarian standards. Overcrowding and aging facilities, particularly Men's Central Jail, present real challenges. But the Sheriff's Department can take immediate steps to reduce its reliance on solitary confinement, steps that do not require new construction, additional resources, or legislative action. The organizations do not support expanding the jail system’s bed capacity.
The Los Angeles investigation is part of the Prison Law Office and Disability Rights California's statewide work to end the overuse of solitary confinement in California's county jails. In Kern County, that work helped reduce the jail system's segregation population by more than 95 percent, from roughly 300 people to fewer than 10.
“People with disabilities should never be isolated because of their disabilities, and they should never be denied basic medical care,” said Gabrielle Birog, Staff Attorney at Disability Rights California. “Our investigation found both happening in Los Angeles County's jails. These findings underscore the urgent need for meaningful reforms to ensure that people with disabilities receive safe, appropriate, and equitable care.”
The findings letter is available here.
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About the Organizations
About the Prison Law Office
The Prison Law Office is one of the nation's leading experts in prison conditions litigation, defending the rights of incarcerated people through class action lawsuits, prison monitoring, and education. In addition to litigation and advocacy, the Prison Law Office works directly with correctional agencies to develop practical, sustainable reforms to improve conditions of confinement for incarcerated people.
About Disability Rights California
Disability Rights California (DRC) is the agency designated under federal and state law to protect and advance the rights of Californians with disabilities. DRC engages in a range of strategies to further its mission, including investigations, litigation, community education, and public policy efforts. For more information about Disability Rights California, please visit https://www.disabilityrightsca.org/.