The local League of Women Voters, the democracy-pushing group that works to arm people with critical information before they cast ballots, spent months researching the San Diego Sheriff’s Office — conditions inside its jails in particular.

Now the nonpartisan organization has published a detailed report on the law enforcement agency’s practices, including issuing recommendations that Sheriff Kelly A. Martinez could implement to prevent in-custody deaths.

The study, titled “LWVSD Concern over Conditions in San Diego County Jails,” was released last week at the group luncheon in Clairemont Mesa.

It cites case after case of what it found were unnecessary deaths inside the Sheriff’s Office seven jails over recent years — and many of the lawsuits and millions of dollars in settlements that followed.

“The preventable deaths in our jails happen at a number of the facilities, over a number of years, to many who are not convicted but who have only been booked without having a trial yet,” the League of Women Voters San Diego study said.

“Often, the only way for families who have lost loved ones in San Diego jails to see justice is to file a lawsuit against the sheriff and county,” it added.

Beyond issues in the county’s jails, the report also includes a series of unrelated misconduct cases involving deputies and command staff accused and sometimes convicted of crimes such as lewd acts with a minor, assault, illegal gun sales and burglary.

“These could be seen as rogue or individual ‘bad actors’ or they could be seen as a systems issue that needs systemic solutions that leadership would need to address,” the report says. “All of these occurred during the two-year period from 2021 to 2023.”

Asst. Sheriff Dustin Lopez, who oversees the office’s Detention Services Bureau, said the higher numbers of deaths occurred before Martinez was sworn in as sheriff in early 2023.

“In the past year, San Diego County achieved the lowest number of in-custody deaths in more than a decade, saw a 65% reduction in overdoses and for the first time in more than 20 years we experienced zero suicides in our jail system,” Lopez said by email.

“These improvements reflect the dedication of our sworn and professional staff to provide a safer and more supportive custodial environment,” he said.

The Sheriff’s Office already has taken multiple steps to reduce deaths and injuries in county jails. Among other things, the agency had added staff, instituted random drug screenings and enhanced the booking process to ensure more appropriate housing.

The efforts appear to have helped. Nine people died in San Diego County jails last year, the lowest number in years. But nine more have died in custody so far this year, including two who died particularly gruesome deaths.

The League of Women Voters analysis was based largely on public records, including court filings, sworn testimony, grand jury reports, a state audit and the Sheriff’s Office’s own data.

It also relied on numerous articles published by The San Diego Union-Tribune, which has been examining jail deaths since it reported the results of a six-month investigation called “Dying Behind Bars” in 2019.

Jeanne Brown, who chairs the league’s criminal justice interest group that authored the study, said the report is aimed at raising awareness about the need for the public to get involved in advocating for changes in policies at practices in county jails.

“Our goal is to point out the terrible conditions in our jails and to change them,” she said. “We are sharing many suggestions made by others which deserve consideration. We do think that it will take more public pressure to accomplish substantive change.”

The report offered numerous potential solutions.

Bail reform and broader use of cite-and-release policies would reduce the number of incarcerated people, and thereby lower the number of in-custody deaths, the study said.

For instance, Vianna Granillo was arrested on suspicion of violating a criminal protective order and possessing a small amount of drugs in 2022. She told deputies she was not in violation of the order, and she should have been cited and released under the county’s COVID-19 protocols then in place.

That claim was confirmed by prosecutors, but not before the 25-year-old woman died after being found in medical distress.

Dominique McCoy also was never supposed to be in jail. He had completed his probation before he was arrested on an alleged violation and booked into jail. Nearly a week later a judge ordered his release, but he was beaten to death before deputies processed his release.

Both people’s families are now suing San Diego County.

The League also recommended that the sheriff improve training and supervision of deputies, screen all staff for drugs when entering jails and make sure that the jails meet all disability laws and standards.

The Sheriff’s Office has previously received recommendations from the grand jury, county supervisors and others to screen employees for drugs as they arrive to work. Martinez has resisted those calls.

Last year, she agreed to improve treatment for disabled people in the county’s jails as part of a partial settlement of a broader class-action lawsuit over the issues. That case appears headed for trial early next year.

Sheriff’s officials should also be more transparent with the public, the league’s report said. Specifically, it said the sheriff should release internal findings in jail-death investigations.

County supervisors should consider requiring the sheriff to pay legal settlements out of her agency’s budget rather than the county’s general fund, the report said, and if the office does not show more improvement, voters should respond accordingly.

“If people in the community believe that the sheriff can’t or won’t use more effective leadership to implement the needed systemic change, there may be other options,” the report said. “The sheriff could be voted out of office or recalled.”

The findings were praised by community activists, who have been pressing the Sheriff’s Office and other government agencies to make the jails safer.

Andrea St. Julian, an attorney who co-chairs the San Diegans for Justice community group, said the League of Women Voters study provided important insights that could help guide policymakers toward effective solutions.

“Every one of these deaths represents a failure of oversight and a breakdown of compassion,” she said. “We cannot keep treating jail deaths as isolated incidents. They are policy failures, plain and simple.”

Darwin Fishman, a San Diego State University professor and co-founder of the Racial Justice Coalition of San Diego, called the analysis an insightful and powerful document that must now be used to make more direct change in county jails.

“This report adds a critical ingredient to this discussion, and now needs to move into the current policy debates and recommendations from elected officials,” he said.

Originally Published: October 26, 2025 at 5:00 AM PDT