Woke LA County supervisors propose motion to DEPOPULATE jails by releasing inmates – and also consider letting criminals with bail set at under $50,000 out of prison

Woke Los Angeles County supervisors have quietly proposed a plan to depopulate jails by releasing incarcerated suspects.

Democrats Lindsey Horvath and Hilda Solis added a motion to Tuesday’s public meeting entitled Los Angeles County to Take Actionable Steps to Depopulate and Decarcerate the Los Angeles County Jails.

It would ‘declare the state of mental health services and overcrowding in the Los Angeles County jails a humanitarian crisis, requiring the county to move with al deliberate sped on meaningful solutions; and prioritize decreasing the number of individuals entering the Los Angeles County jails.’

The sheriff’s office would then be instructed to ‘release individuals committed and/or sentenced to the County jails for misdemeanors and/or felonies who can be safely released back into the community’ — though an earlier version of the proposal said it would apply to criminals with less than a $50,000 bond.

Critics, though, say the proposal could allow for the release of suspects accused of domestic violence, robbery and assault with a firearm — potentially including a driver who plowed into a Los Angeles street carnival in November and injured six people, but was only held on a $50,000 bond.

Woke Los Angeles County Supervisors Hilda Solis, left, and Lindsey Horvath, right, proposed a measure to depopulate jails by releasing incarcerated suspects

Under the proposal, the sheriff’s office would be instructed to ‘release individuals committed and/or sentenced to the County jails for misdemeanors and/or felonies who can be safely released back into the community’

Under their proposal, the the Los Angeles Superior Court would be directed to ‘implement the Emergency Bail Schedule that was in place at the height of the COVID pandemic.’

The public defenders’ office would also be asked to ‘develop recommendations, including staffing and budget needs, that will enable each office to help people resolve Failure to Appear warrants as a means of avoiding incarceration.’

An early version of the proposal specified that the sheriff’s office would release ‘individuals with aggregate bail amounts set as $50,000 or below,’ however, that provision does not appear in a revised version of the motion. 

It further asked to work with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office to ‘expedite [the] release of individuals being held in custody on behalf of the state including granting the sheriff delegated authority to calculate credits, and release individuals directly from local custody… and establish state-funded and managed alternative custody arrangements for individuals who are in custody based on the state’s decision to revoke their parole.’

And, the motion called for a ‘zero-bail schedule for individuals accused of low-level offenses, infractions, misdemeanors and some felony offenses, similar to the schedule that was put in place at the height of the COVID pandemic permanently,’ as well as subsidizing a suspect’s transportation to and from court.

Meanwhile, another motion proposed by the two supervisors would invest more in mental health to accommodate the released prisoners.

It states that the county should ‘develop an initial 500 secure mental health care beds to care for… individuals who are those with the most serious mental health needs and require more resources and support.’

The proposal apparently came after protestors called for the closure of the Men’s Central Jail in downtown Los Angeles last week and handed county supervisors a list of their demands

Activists say county jails, like the Men’s Central Jail, are overcrowded, even after the county approved a motion to create a jail closure implementation team, which would develop goals and timelines to safely depopulate the jail

The proposal apparently came after activists called for the closure of the Men’s Central Jail in downtown Los Angeles last week, protesting near the LA County Board of Supervisors’ Office Thursday morning.

They demanded that the board commit to a closure timeline that would shutter the jail by March 2025, holding signs reading ‘People deserve care, not cages,’ in the aftermath of three inmate deaths — including one at the jail.

Protestors noted that in 2021, the Board of Supervisors approved a motion to create a jail closure implementation team, which would develop goals and timelines to safely depopulate the jail.

Eric Siddall, the vice president of the Los Angeles Association of Deputy District Attorneys, slammed the proposal

But, organizers told KTLA, county officials have not done enough to make that happen.

‘Because the jails are operating 20 percent over capacity, we’re going to continue to see people dying,’ Melissa Camacho, a senior staff attorney with the ACLU of Southern California said. 

Following the protest, KTLA reports, the protesters hand delivered letters to the Board of Supervisors outlining their demands to close the prison.

But critics claim the supervisors’ proposal puts every day Los Angeles County residents at risk, with Eric Siddall, the vice president of the Los Angeles Association of Deputy District Attorneys slamming the motion as ‘dangerous.’

‘The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors” motion to gut parts of the criminal justice system without input from stakeholders is dangerous and reckless,’ he told FOX News.

‘The authors sought no advice from those who know and understand public safety issues,’ he claimed. ‘They seek to lower the jail population without addressing the root causes of crime or protecting the public.’

Video shows the terrifying moment people rushed for safety after a Porsche SUV plowed through a crowd at a street carnival in Los Angeles in November, sending six people to the hospital

The victims hurt in the incident, all between the ages of 15-40, were transported to local hospitals with non-life threatening injuries

He said that the proposal calls for the release of suspects accused of illegally carrying a gun, and those arrested on charges like domestic violence, possession of child pornography, residential burglary, robbery or assault with a firearm.

But the supervisors’ proposal, Siddall said, does not include provisions to ‘protect the community from violent criminals.

‘This catch-and-release program comes without any plan or infrastructure to protect the community from violent criminals apprehended by law enforcement.

‘This program benefits no one except for career criminals,’ he continued. ‘We need to make sure the most dangerous offenders don’t get out, that first-time offenders don’t com back and that those with serious mental illnesses get appropriate care and help. This does none of that,’ 

Among those who could be released are Steven Weems, who was arrested in November after he allegedly plowed his Porsche through a street carnival in South Los Angeles, injuring six people.

Officers at the time said they tried to pull him over, but Weems refused to stop and eventually crashed through a cement rail and into the carnival.

The victims were rushed to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Weems was arrested on felony hit and run, and was being held on a $50,000 bail.

DailyMail.com has reached out to Horvath’s and Solis’ offices, as well as to the Los Angeles County District Attorney and Sheriff’s Office for comment.

The board is set to meet at 9.30am on Tuesday to vote on the proposal.