The Justice LA Coalition held a rally and march on Monday, March 30, calling for the closure of the deteriorating Men’s Central Jail, an aging facility regarded by many as one of the nation’s worst.
The demonstration marked five years since Los Angeles County supervisors voted to shutter the complex and 17 years since the death of John Horton III in the facility, whose mother spoke at the rally. She joined other family members, attorneys and community leaders, who marched around the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration.
Five years ago, county supervisors approved the Men’s Central Jail Closure Report, launching the process of closing the center, citing continued deaths, unsafe conditions, and a need for alternatives to incarceration. Little progress toward that goal has been made in recent years, while problems continued to be reported at the facility. Last September, state Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta sued the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department, citing filthy conditions, broken toilets, vermin, unclean water and other issues.
“I’ve been watching mother after mother, family after family, for 17 years, go through the exact same thing that I’ve been through,” said Helen Jones, Horton’s mother, during Monday’s rally.
Horton, 22, was found hanging in his cell in the Twin Towers Correctional Facility, but an autopsy revealed his injuries were likely not from suicide. County officials paid the family a $2 million settlement in 2017 after a wrongful death lawsuit was filed.
“It’s time to stop spending money, Board of Supervisors, and wasting time on all the useless commissions that simply repeat what we already know,” said Eric Miller, a professor of law and former commissioner on the Sybil Brand Commission.
On the 17th anniversary of the death of her son John Horton, 22, in Men’s Central Jail, Helen Jones calls for the closure of the jail during a JusticeLA coalition rally outside the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration on Monday, March 30, 2026. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
James Nelson, of Dignity and Power Now, leads a JusticeLA coalition march around the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration calling for the closure of Men’s Central Jail on the fifth anniversary of the county’s jail closure report in Los Angeles on Monday, March 30, 2026. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
People pick signs during a JusticeLA coalition rally calling for the closure of Men’s Central Jail outside the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration in Los Angeles on Monday, March 30, 2026. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Khadijah Shabazz, left, is hugged by Saharra White, of Dignity and Power Now, after Shabazz spoke about her son being shot and killed by deputies while holding a COVID face mask, during a JusticeLA coalition rally calling for the closure of Men’s Central Jail outside the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration in Los Angeles on Monday, March 30, 2026. The father of White’s daughter also died in LA County Sheriff’s custody. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
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On the 17th anniversary of the death of her son John Horton, 22, in Men’s Central Jail, Helen Jones calls for the closure of the jail during a JusticeLA coalition rally outside the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration on Monday, March 30, 2026. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
“(Men’s Central Jail) is unsanitary,” he said. “The cells are dark, leaky, lack adequate plumbing so the water is undrinkable, and the toilets and urinals often do not flush or back up. There is black mold over the vents, rotting food is everywhere, and there are rats, cockroaches, and other bugs in many of the units. There are extraordinary waits for medical care. Men often have to choose between going to court and getting medical attention.”
In March 2021, an exhaustive, long-waited report to the Board of Supervisors said that Men’s Central Jail could close by 2023.
The closure would require a 45% reduction in the total jail population, the report said, and the creation of thousands of community-based mental health beds.
L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna has called for a new “correctional care center” in recent months, and his department requested $1.2 million to study that possibility during budget presentations in February. The current jails were not designed for a population with such severe mental health challenges, officials said.
On March 3, meanwhile, the supervisors called on the Sheriff’s Department and other agencies to implement a series of wide-ranging reforms on a 4-0 vote .
Written by Supervisor Janice Hahn, the motion demands more thorough security screenings and safety checks at the jails, consistent monitoring of surveillance cameras and better access to drug treatment and drug reversal medications.
Maintaining that the county cannot truly improve safety for inmates without building a new jail complex, Supervisor Kathryn Barger abstained from the vote.
Ten inmates have died so far this year. In 2025, 46 inmates died, the second deadliest in the past two decades. The majority of deaths within L.A. County’s custody are classified as “natural,” but activists and families dispute the accuracy of that description because some inmates don’t get the medical treatment they needed.