Woman takes own life at Santa Rita Jail; some in custody only get 1 hour a week out of cell

These latest two suicides bring the total number of people killed at Santa Rita Jail to 50 since 2014. That is the highest number of in-custody deaths of any jail in the Bay Area. 

California auditor: Santa Rita Jail lacks information on inmate mental health, has surplus of $135M

The state auditor on Wednesday issued a lengthy report criticizing three jails in California, singling out Santa Rita Jail for not sharing enough information about the mental health of incarcerated people and having an excess surplus of $135 million, much of which wasn't reported properly.

Man who died by suicide at Santa Rita Jail had been in coronavirus quarantine

While Jonas Park had known substance abuse problems, his mother and a civil rights attorney question whether more could have been done for him - including sending in a mental health counselor, giving him more free time out of his cell and making sure he could call his relatives - knowing his mental state and family history. 

Veteran law enforcement officer running to unseat longtime Alameda County sheriff

Capt. Michael Carroll has served 25-years in the sheriff's office, and says there have been several controversies during his time there, including inmate suicides and charges of wrongdoing by deputies.

Deputies and incarcerated people to get vaccinated at Santa Rita Jail

Sgt. Ray Kelly said the plan is to vaccination all 1,650 employees who "have been on the front lines serving county residents during the pandemic." Incarcerated people will start to get the vaccines next week.

Mystery shrouds 1st suicide reported at Santa Rita jail in 13 months

While the name and circumstances of the person who committed suicide are not known, it does end a 13-month stretch at the jail where no one committed suicide, the subject of a federal lawsuit against the Sheriff's Office. 

State agency cites Alameda County Sheriff after COVID-related deaths of deputy, technician

The citation also doesn't mention Deputy Oscar Rocha or technician Valerie Leon by name. It merely states that the investigation into workplace safety was "fatality initiated."

Pair of Black progressive women hope to unseat Alameda County DA, sheriff

Civil rights attorney Pamela Price is running for a second time to unseat District Attorney Nancy O’Malley, who has held the seat since 2010. First-time candidate JoAnn Walker, a San Francisco police officer of 25 years who lives in Hayward, is running to oppose Sheriff Gregory Ahern, who has held his seat and ran unopposed since 2007. 

Civil rights activists blast coronavirus outbreaks at Santa Rita Jail

The activists are demanding a state takeover of the jail, better testing and medical care, and the release of more eligible inmates, among other demands. 

Attorneys concerned Santa Rita Jail's population near pre-COVID levels

Civil rights lawyers fear the virus will spread through Santa Rita Jail, which as of this week, held 2,224 people, reflecting a nearly 24% increase in May.

Alameda County to pay $5M to Fremont family of young man chained to Santa Rita Jail door

Christian Madrigal's parents have been grieving since he died last June after they called 911 to get him mental help after he experienced some sort of psychotic break after experimenting with mushrooms about two weeks prior. 

Public defender encourages incarcerated people at Santa Rita to  vote

The videos were produced by the Public Defender’s V.O.I.C.E. project. They describe who is eligible to vote and provide instructions for how to vote from jail.

Father blames son's fatal drug overdose on Santa Rita jail guards' negligence

Jonah Andrews was one of two people who died in Santa Rita this year, a marked drop from prior years. Since 2014, 47 inmates have died while in custody at Santa Rita, which has the highest-jail death rate in the Bay Area, according to an analysis by KTVU. 

Lieutenant admits he made 'epic mistake' for chaining 20-year-old to Santa Rita Jail door

These newly released Internal Affairs documents provide the first glimpse into how 10 deputies, sergeants and captains viewed the chain of events that transpired that day. It is also the first time that Lt. Craig Cedergren’s thoughts and actions that day have been made public.

Spot check of Santa Rita Jail shows clean facility, but also reveals myriad of COVID-19 problems

The 13-page assessment written by Mike Brady of Sabot Consulting on July 7, also reveals a myriad of other problems at the jail, including the fact that 30% of newly incarcerated inmates refuse to take COVID-19 tests, but are then allowed to remain in the same group with inmates whose tests came back negative.  

Santa Rita jail says only 22 inmates now positive for coronavirus

This is a huge drop from the jail's peak of 104 positive cases at the end of last week, which attorneys for the county revealed occurred earlier in early July in the kitchen.