First of two parts

Every five days, on average, someone dies in the jails of Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino or Riverside counties.

Broken bodies, broken minds and substance abuse are at the root of most of the nearly 500 deaths since 2020. Homicides behind bars get more attention but are rare compared to suicides, drug overdoses and death by natural causes.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna has called his jails the largest mental health institution in the nation, estimating that roughly 50% of the inmates are struggling with psychological problems. Other counties in the region concur with that estimate for their jail populations.

As one civil rights attorney said: “You’re dealing with a population that is physically sick, mentally ill and addicted, and they need help, a lot o

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