SANTA ANA (CNS) – The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California issued a report Thursday critical of the Orange County Jail system for not doing enough to prevent in-custody deaths.
The report examines 119 in-custody deaths and concludes the conditions of incarceration contribute to “premature and preventable deaths.”
The report’s findings “reveal a system in which internal investigations lack transparency and accountability: not one of the 119 deaths reviewed resulted in the district attorney finding the Sheriff’s Department at fault.”
The ACLU’s report said the report exposes a “pattern of systemic failure. Nearly half of those who died did so within one month of booking, and many were struggling with substance use disorders, mental illness, or chronic health conditions that were ignored or mishandled.”
The report concluded that the “most effective way to prevent deaths in custody is to reduce reliance on incarceration by investing in community- based treatment, housing and diversion programs that keep people safe and alive outside of jail.”
The report noted that as of October 2025 at least eight inmates in Orange County died that year. The report seized on a quote from Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes that the inmates are “not dying because they’re in jail. They are dying from things that are life choices…”
The report said “the most common reasons for death in custody were issues related to the jails’ intake `triage’ process, suicide, physical violence, substance use and medical neglect.”
The report said of the 119 inmate deaths at least 60 “died within a month of booking. Of those, at least 35 died within a week of booking.”
The report concluded the District Attorney’s Office failed to find any “fault for any of the 119 deaths in the dataset.” The District Attorney’s Office investigations examine whether those involved should face criminal charges and not whether the deaths were policy failures.
Representatives from the Sheriff’s Department and the District Attorney’s Office did not immediately comment on the report. District Attorney spokeswoman Kimberly Edds said her office had not reviewed the report.
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