A judge orders @OCSheriff Don Barnes to release half of county jail inmates due to COVID concerns. Sheriff Barnes says many are too dangerous to be on the loose and asks judge to ID each prisoner by name “pursuant to his authority, not mine.” @CBSmichelegile reports for @CBSLA pic.twitter.com/IAELHWWUlD
— Jeff Vaughn (@JeffVaughn) December 16, 2020
A California sheriff has no intention of complying with a judge’s ruling ordering the release of 1,858 convicted felons due to Covid19.
The American Civil Liberties Union sued for the release in order to “protect the medically vulnerable” inmates at the Orange County jail. Orange County Civil Court Judge Peter Wilson sided with the ACLU and ordered the release.
Sheriff Don Barnes is refusing to comply with the order however, citing serious risks to public safety.
“These aren’t low-lying offenders,” Barnes says. “These are people in for very serious offenses; murder, attempted murder, domestic violence.”
The judge’s order would reduce the inmate population by 50% in the Orange County jail. He has given Barnes until New Year’s Eve to submit a list of which inmates should be released. Barnes says he has no intention of submitting the list.