LA residents who attended "Off the Cuff: Teach-In and Roundtable" were able to engage with each other and discuss their ideas on what would make Los Angeles a better city.
As elections are steadily approaching, Angelenos may (or may not) be informing themselves of the candidates and issues at stake for the midterm elections. One issue that is of particular importance and relevance to Los Angeles is that of criminal justice.
At the recent event, “Off the Cuff: Criminal Justice Teach-In and Roundtable,” specific topics regarding criminal justice were discussed in four teach-in sessions, and Jim McDonnell, one of the candidates for Los Angeles Sheriff and current Long Beach Police Chief, participated in a roundtable discussion with other criminal justice advocates at the end of the event.
One of the topics that was explored at during the teach-in sessions was that of civilian oversight. Dignity and Power Now (DPN), a grassroots organization that fights for the dignity and power of incarcerated people and their families, is requesting a civilian oversight body with the following five characteristics: one with subpoena powers, meaning that it has the authority to compel sheriff’s officials to testify; one that has its own legal counsel; one that has direct functions of the Office of the Inspector General; one with nine members, five appointed by the board and four appointed by the community; and lastly, one that has no current or former members of law enforcement.
Such a civilian oversight committee would keep sheriffs accountable from misconduct or abuse.
“Los Angeles has the largest jail system and the largest sheriff body. It just makes sense that it should have a civilian oversight body as well,” said Mark-Anthony Johnson, the interim co-director of DPN, adding that cities such as Berkeley, San Francisco, Albuquerque, and other cities already have such a body.
Jayda Raspberry, an organizer from DPN, was formerly incarcerated for six years in Los Angeles.
“Los Angeles has the largest jail systems, but it also has the harshest conditions,” Raspberry said. “We need civilian oversight so that people who are appointed can voice these concerns and help to change conditions in prisons.”
McDonnell, though he expressed his support for a civilian oversight body during the roundtable discussion, was vague about his agreement or disagreement regarding the five characteristics demanded by DPN.
“I would not want to weigh in on that at this point,” McDonnell said, referring to the request that the civilian oversight body be given subpoena power. “I would want to hear what the legal options are.”
Another seminar discussed the treatment of those with mental illnesses in prisons, and the push for mental health diversion. Philip Cho, who wrote Twin Towers Los Angeles and served one year at Twin Towers Correctional Facility, described the injustices that he had endured during his time there.
Cho’s arrest and sentence to Twin Towers was caused by Anna, a Russian woman that he imagined. Cho was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.
He described that Anna started convincing him that he possessed $600 million from a lawsuit that his brother had won. Anna told him to spend the money on all the things that he’s ever wanted. And after spending money on various things at an upscale mall in Pasadena, Anna convinced him to buy a $2,000 case of cigars at a store in Pasadena. It was then that police arrested him.
When Cho arrived at Twin Towers Correctional Facility, he did not receive any medical history check or evaluation. Hence, there was no way for anyone to know of his illness, and thus, Cho could not receive the medications he needed.
“Two to three weeks later, my medication withdrawal symptoms started,” Cho said. “It was so painful. I had to spend six to seven hours complaining and being in pain, and I finally got some meds from a doctor who questioned me from about 30 feet away. A simple five minute phone call with a doctor would have solved the problem.”
Cho was also placed in solitary confinement—and said that this is normal at Twin Towers.
“It is the worst type of torture. No stimuli, no contact with anyone for 24/7. We don’t get access to bathrooms or a shower. For a mentally ill person, being left with your own thoughts is the worst situation you can be in.”
As Cho finished his story, he and Esther Lim, the Jails Project Director of ACLU in Southern California, demanded for mental health diversion, and that community health centers where those with mental illnesses issues can receive housing, therapy, and treatment. Community health centers are less costly, more effective, and would help keep them out from jail, they said. According to a report by LA Weekly, it costs $20,000 per year to provide services to a mentally ill person through community health centers. It costs $60,000 to keep them in prison.
After teach-in sessions, attendees of the event also had the chance to interact with each other, as they split into groups and created portrayals of the Los Angeles that they desire to see.
(From left to right:) Kim McGill, Philip Cho, Jim McDonnell, Mark-Anthony Johnson, and Edna Monroy discussed issues regarding criminal justice, including civilian oversight, immigration, mental health diversion, and youth and criminal justice during a roundtable discussion at East LA College this past Saturday.
The last portion of the forum was a roundtable discussion among panelists Kim McGill, an organizer from Youth Justice Coalition; Philip Cho; McDonnell; Mark-Anthony Johnson; and Edna Monroy, the southern California organizer from California Immigrant Youth Justice Alliance; and was mediated by Frank Stoltze, the crime and politics reporter from KPCC.
In the midst of their discussions, Stoltze brought up a question that may have been lingering on everyone’s minds – Is the criminal justice system racist?
To this, McDonnell answered, “There is an overrepresentation of African Americans and Latinos in our criminal justice system, but it’s because of a lot of factors such as economic issues, illiteracy, and others.”
“Ultimately, people in law enforcement are people who want to help others,” he added.
The event took place at East Los Angeles College on October 25, and was sponsored by various organizations, including Korean Churches for Community Development (KCCD), Korean American Coalition (KAC), Asian Americans Advancing Justice, among others.
Paul Tanaka, the current L.A. County Undersheriff and the other candidate for L.A. Sheriff, had also been invited to speak at the panel but did not attend.
