Federal Class Action Lawsuit Seeks Santa Barbara County Jail Changes

"A federal class-action lawsuit claims the Santa Barbara County Jail fails to provide basic mental-health and medical care, misuses solitary confinement, discriminates against people with disabilities, and provides “inhumane, unsanitary, and unsafe living conditions.”

The lawsuit, naming inmates Clay Martin Burt Murray, David Franco, Shareen Winkle, Maria Tracy and Eric Brown as plaintiffs, lists Santa Barbara County and the Sheriff’s Department as defendants.

“This is a system with critical deficiencies that have not been addressed for too long,” said Aaron Fischer, litigation counsel at Disability Rights California. “These issues put people with disabilities at risk of harm every day...”"

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