Liberate the Child Prisoners

The ones in California.

The recent news accounts of the dehumanizing conditions under which juveniles are held in the Los Angeles County Jail confirm what we saw this year when we were part of a delegation that visited the Men's Central Jail: The youths are on lockdown up to 23 1/2 hours a day in windowless 4-by-8-foot cells, in conditions much worse than those experienced by some adult inmates on death row. Recent suicide attempts by two youths are the latest symptom of a problem that could end tragically if juveniles continue to be housed in the adult jail.

L.A. is one of the few jurisdictions in the state that holds youth in its adult jail — either because they are being tried as adults or because the prosecutor has requested their transfer based on the alleged offense. Most of the 30 to 40 minors held in the jail under the current law have not been found guilty of anything. Ultimately, many of them will be found guilty of less serious offenses, and some cases may be dismissed. Legislation to limit such transfers is pending in Sacramento.