Opinion: California promised accountability for inmate deaths in jails. A year later, no results.

"Senate Bill 519, authored by then-Senator Toni Atkins, was sold as a turning point. A statewide office would finally review deaths in county jails. Families were told transparency was coming. Oversight would be independent. Lessons would be learned. Nearly a year after the law took effect, the scorecard is damning: Not a single completed review. This is not a startup problem. It is a design failure, rooted in concessions made by the bill's sponsor,"

"The sponsor knew that sheriffs investigating deaths in their own jails was a conflict. That was the premise of the bill. But instead of building a watchdog with real authority, the final law preserved sheriff control at every critical point. In some California counties, the conflict is even more extreme. The elected sheriff is also the coroner, the official who determines the cause and manner of death."

"The state's new In-Custody Death Review Division can request records. It can issue recommendations. It cannot compel compliance. It cannot enforce deadlines. It cannot sanction obstruction. Those powers were stripped away to secure political comfort and law enforcement support. Even worse, the law allows sweeping redactions. Sheriffs under review can still shape what the public sees. Transparency becomes conditional. Accountability becomes negotiable."

Senate Bill 519 established a statewide In-Custody Death Review Division intended to review county jail deaths and increase transparency. The law preserved significant control for elected sheriffs, including in counties where sheriffs also serve as coroners and determine cause and manner of death. The division can request records and issue recommendations but cannot compel compliance, enforce deadlines, or sanction obstruction. Political concessions removed enforcement powers and allowed sweeping redactions, enabling sheriffs to shape public disclosure. As a result, reviews stall when agencies delay or resist, and no completed reviews occurred nearly a year after implementation.

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