There are at least 26 pay-to-stay jails in Los Angeles and Orange counties in California, where well-off defendants pay to stay at small city jails with better amenities than traditional prisons. But the effort, which began as a remedy for the state's overcrowded prison system, is allowing people convicted of serious crimes to buy their way into safer and more comfortable jails. An analysis by The Marshall Project and the Los Angeles Times found that, of the more than 3,500 people who served time in Southern California pay-to-stay prisons, over 160 defendants had been convicted of serious crimes including sexual assault and sexual abuse of children.
From The Marshall Project:
Pay-to-stay jail assignments make up only a small fraction of the tens of thousands of inmates sent to detention centers in Southern California each year. But allowing some defendants to avoid the region's notoriously dangerous county jails has long rankled some in law enforcement who believe it runs counter to the spirit of equal justice.
The region's pay-to-stay jails took in nearly $7 million from the programs from 2011 through 2015, according to revenue figures provided by the cities. In attracting paying customers, some cities openly tout their facilities as safer, cleaner and with more modern amenities. The Santa Ana jail's website, for example, notes that jail is a “highly disruptive experience” and promotes its jail as a place where criminals can serve their time in a “less intimidating environment.”
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