Twin Towers Correctional Facility
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (October 2008) |
The Twin Towers Correctional Facility, also referred to in the media as Twin Towers Jail, is a complex in Los Angeles, California.[1] The facility is located at 450 Bauchet Street, in Los Angeles, California and is operated by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The facility consists of two towers, a medical services building, and the Los Angeles County Medical Center Jail Ward.
The 1.5 million square foot (140,000 m2) complex was opened in 1997, though it remained empty for a period prior to opening because of lack of operating funds. During that time, the deputy sheriffs had to prevent people from breaking in.[2] It was authorized and constructed after the Northridge earthquake damaged the historic Hall of Justice in the city. Security at the facility centers on a panoptic design that allows deputies and officers in a central control room to look through secure optical material to see into all areas of the facility.[3]
Concerns
[edit] | This section needs additional citations for verification. (January 2020) |
Despite the state-of-the-art security systems built into the jail, inmate Kevin Jerome Pullum walked out of an employee exit on July 6, 2001, two hours after being convicted of attempted murder, and remained at large for eighteen days before he was apprehended within a mile of the jail. Pullum used a newspaper photograph of actor Eddie Murphy to alter an identification badge he used in the escape. The attempt made Pullum the 13th person to successfully escape the facility.[4]
In May 2013, along with the adjacent Men's Central Jail, Twin Towers ranked as one of the ten worst County Jails in the United States, based on reporting in Mother Jones, which noted the large number of complaints received by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Mother Jones described the facility as "overflowing" and the deputies as prone to attacking inmates "unprovoked" or for "the slightest infractions". They report an allegation that one inmate injured in an attack by multiple deputies was marched down a jail module as one deputy yelled "gay boy walking" and then beaten and raped by other inmates as deputies watched.[5]
The jail has also come under fire from human rights advocates as a central focus in the use of psychiatric drugs to control prisoners.
Notable inmates
[edit]- The Game, rapper[6]
- Freddie Gibbs, rapper[7]
- Paris Hilton, reality TV personality. Was in jail for a few weeks.[8]
- Danny Masterson, former actor[9]
- Conrad Murray, Michael Jackson's personal doctor[10]
- Ron Jeremy, pornographic actor[11]
- Steve-O, Jackass cast member[12]
- Johnny "J", rap producer
- Robert Durst, real estate heir and killer, extradited to California to face murder charge for killing best friend Susan Berman[13][14]
- Harvey Weinstein, former film producer extradited from New York to face his sexual assault trials[15]
Cultural references
[edit]The facility has been used as a filming location for the movies Blast and Mean Guns, both directed by Albert Pyun.[citation needed] It also features in Michael Connelly's book The Law of Innocence.[16]
It is mentioned many times in the cop show The Rookie as a location of where many criminals go.
References
[edit]- ^ "County Correction Facilities & Jails - Los Angeles County". laalmanac.com. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
- ^ "CNN - Prison has plenty of guard, but no prisoners". CNN. May 17, 1996. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
- ^ "Transcripts: Will Paris Hilton Go To Jail? Aired May 11, 2007 - 21:00 ET". Larry King Live. CNN. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
- ^ "Elusive Escapee Finally Caught". Los Angeles Times. July 23, 2001. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
- ^ Ridgeway, James; Casella, Jean (2013). "America's 10 Worst Jails: LA County". Mother Jones.
- ^ "Eight is Enough for The Game". TMZ. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
- ^ "The Miseducation of Freddie Gibbs". L.A. Weekly. December 2, 2009. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
- ^ "Twin Towers to Paris -- Great Seeing You Go!". TMZ. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
- ^ "Danny Masterson's Distraught Mom and Brother Visit Him in Jail as Rapist Actor's Wife Bijou Phillips Files for Divorce". Radar Online. September 20, 2023. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
- ^ Antonio Castelan; Julie Brayton; John Cadiz Klemack; Patrick Healy (November 8, 2011). "Conrad Murray's First Night Behind Bars". NBC Los Angeles. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
- ^ McDonald, Scott (August 31, 2020). "Ron Jeremy Accused of Sexually Assaulting 15-year-old Girl Among 20 New Allegations". Newsweek. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
- ^ "Steve-O Pulls One Last Stunt Before Going To Jail For SeaWorld's Whales".
- ^ Andrew Blankstein; Phil Helsel (October 26, 2018). "Judge orders Robert Durst to stand trial in murder of friend Susan Berman". NBC News. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
- ^ Dakin Andone; Paul Vercammen (July 31, 2020). "Robert Durst's murder trial has been postponed until April 2021". CNN. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
- ^ Maria Puente (July 20, 2021). "Harvey Weinstein pleads not guilty to 11 sex-crime charges in L.A. after extradition from New York". USA Today. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
- ^ Connelly, Michael (2020). The Law of Innocence. Orion. ISBN 978-1409186106.
