The Brief

After living 42 years wrongfully incarcerated in the Angola State Penitentiary, Gary Tyler has spent the past decade living and working as an artist and advocate in Los Angeles.

A political awakening in Los Angeles

Growing up in Louisiana, Gary Tyler experienced some culture shock when he initially moved to South Central L.A. at 12 years old.

“It was like a new world I was venturing into,” Tyler said. “I learned things that I never thought was accessible 'cause it was totally different from the way the culture in the South was. It was more open and engaging.

“I learned about Negro History Week. […] I also walked around the community, knocked on doors and got petitions signed for Angela Davis.

“Coming to L.A. was like walking out of the dark into the light.”

A segregationist mob changes the course of Tyler’s life

After a couple of years, Tyler moved back to Louisiana, where he was part of a group of Black students bused to a formerly all-white high school under court-ordered desegregation.

On Oct. 16, 1974, their bus was attacked by a white mob and a white boy was killed. Tyler was wrongfully convicted of his murder by an all-white jury.

Detroit Newspaper circa 1976

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Courtesy of Gary Tyler's archive

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Multiple witnesses later recanted their testimonies, saying they were pressured by police. Nevertheless, at just 17, Tyler became the youngest person on death row in the country, and was sent to the Louisiana State Prison in Angola, La.

Rodeos, quilting and an unexpected community

Tyler said he was afraid of the people he would meet in prison, but to his surprise, he found a community of older men who came together to protect him.

“Little did I know, despite the appearance of these guys, these guys was caring. These guys were loving,” Tyler said. “And these guys didn't perceive me as a threat at all because I was this little kid in adult prison.”

Tyler paid that care forward in different ways within the community in Angola, spending decades leading the prison theater program and volunteering with the country’s first prison hospice program, which was established in 1988 during the heigh of the AIDS crisis.

It was the need to fund hospice care that led Tyler to learn quilting in order to have something to sell at the notorious Angola Prison Rodeo, an annual fundraiser where inmates risk life and limb facing off against agitated bulls before a crowd.

Tyler resisted the craft at first.

GARY TYLER QUILTS

'Fernanda's Touch,' 2025

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Courtesy of the artist; Library Street Collective, Detroit; and Official Welcome, Los Angeles. Photo: Evan Bedford

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'Unforgiven,' 2025

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Courtesy of the artist; Library Street Collective, Detroit; and Official Welcome, Los Angeles. Photo: Evan Bedford

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'Convict Poker,' 2025;

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Courtesy of the artist; Library Street Collective, Detroit; and Official Welcome, Los Angeles. Photo: Evan Bedford

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“I felt that it was a feminine thing to do in prison,” Tyler said. “But I started thinking about my grandmother when I was this little kid. … I said, 'Wait a minute. I come from a family generation where my grandmother made quilts.' So I started having a different perspective … [that] we’re doing something noble. We doing something that supports dying men in prison.”

As Tyler’s quilts became big sellers at the rodeo and his leadership in the theater program attracted even more attention to his case, Tyler’s lawyers and national and international supporters rallied around his case. Still, it took 42 years for Tyler to be released — in 2016 at the age of 57.

A return to Los Angeles 

With the aid of some of his longtime supporters, Tyler settled in Pasadena, where he became an advocate, working with organizations like A Safe Place For Youth. He continues to make quilts, ranging from colorful butterflies — a symbol of freedom — to depictions of life in incarceration.

“I felt that doing something tangible through my artwork, through quilting … that would give an understanding of my life experience in prison.”

'Illuminations from a Captured Soul' is now on display at the Official Welcome Gallery in Los Angeles through December 20th, 2025.

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Official Welcome Gallery

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Tyler’s newest exhibition of narrative quilts includes portraits of people serving sentences in Angola, depicted not as inmates but as the characters they portrayed in his plays. Tyler says this gives the viewer an opportunity to see their humanity.

And preserving one’s humanity is at the heart of all of Tyler’s work.

“I wanted to maintain my own individuality, knowing that I was an innocent person,” he said. “And I want people to know … even if you’re guilty, there's a chance for change. Never miss out on that opportunity, no matter what.”

How to see this work

"Illuminations from a Captured Soul" is now on display at the Official Welcome Gallery in Los Angeles through Dec. 20.

• Location: 672 La Fayette Park Pl Suite 46, Los Angeles
• Hours: Thursday through Saturday 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. (and by appointment)

California is fighting back after President Donald Trump’s administration instigated homeless housing cuts that local service providers said would be "devastating."

Two recently filed lawsuits accuse the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development of illegally going over Congress’ head to make massive changes to the way federal homelessness funds are distributed.

“HUD’s new grant rules would effectively defund permanent supportive housing and rapid rehousing programs across the nation, eliminating proven tools that help residents exit homelessness sustainably,” Santa Clara County Counsel Tony LoPresti said in a statement. “This is another instance of the Trump administration prioritizing its political agenda above the needs of our most vulnerable community members.”

Santa Clara County and San Francisco sued the Trump administration this week, in conjunction with the National Alliance to End Homelessness and the National Low Income Housing Coalition. A separate lawsuit was filed last week by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration and a handful of other states. It marked the 47th time California sued the Trump administration in 44 weeks.

Now, homeless service providers are waiting anxiously to see how the litigation plays out and wondering if the impending legal battle will further delay the money they desperately need.

“It’s just the matter of how long it’s going to take that concerns me,” said Robert Ratner, director of Santa Cruz County’s Housing for Health, which coordinates the county’s homelessness response. “Because while we’re waiting for these issues to get resolved, we have programs that are going to run out of money to support people.”

The Department of Housing and Urban Development did not respond to a request for comment.

In a statement last month, HUD Secretary Scott Turner said the changes are aimed at “stopping the Biden-era slush fund that fueled the homelessness crisis, shut out faith-based providers simply because of their values, and incentivized never-ending government dependency.”

At issue are changes the Trump administration made to its funding policy last month. Jurisdictions applying for a piece of about $4 billion in federal homelessness funds now can’t spend more than 30% of that money on permanent housing — a significant decrease. Los Angeles County, for example, currently spends more than 80% on permanent housing. Instead, the federal government wants localities to prioritize emergency shelter and temporary housing programs that require participants to be sober or participate in treatment.

While shelters offer a temporary respite from the streets, permanent housing can end someone’s homelessness. For years, the federal government has prioritized funding permanent housing using the “housing first” method — a strategy that moves people into housing as quickly as possible, without requiring them to first get sober or agree to addiction treatment. Veering away from both of those principles marks a major policy shift.

Last year, California communities won more than $683 million in federal homelessness funds through what is called the Continuum of Care program. About 90% of that went to permanent housing projects, which currently house tens of thousands of Californians, according to Newsom. The new rule threatens to put those people back out onto the street, he said in a news release.

The new policy also prohibits the use of federal funds for diversity and inclusion efforts, support of transgender clients, and use of “harm reduction” strategies that seek to reduce overdose deaths by helping people in active addiction use drugs more safely. And it gives preference for projects in cities, counties and states that ban homeless encampments.

Both lawsuits allege that the Trump administration’s funding changes violate the Administrative Procedure Act and the Constitution by defying the rules Congress set out for distributing the funds. Congress authorized a two-year grant cycle in 2024, meaning local jurisdictions wouldn’t have to reapply for funds in 2025. The Trump administration flouted that decision when it suddenly forced jurisdictions to reapply, the lawsuits allege.

The lawsuits also claim the administration didn’t go through proper protocol before enacting the changes to its funding strategy, which would have included giving cities and counties more time to comply with the new rules, and allowing stakeholders to comment on the changes.

In Santa Cruz County, Ratner is of two minds about the lawsuits. On one hand, he believes the abrupt way the Trump administration rolled out the funding changes was “very inappropriate.” But he worries a lengthy court battle could tie up funds his county needs to pay people’s rents.

The National Alliance to End Homelessness sued the Trump administration over similar allegations tied to a smaller, $75 million pot of homelessness funding in September. A judge sided with the Alliance, and temporarily barred the federal government from distributing those funds. But now that money is frozen, unable to help unhoused residents as the case moves forward.

Ratner worries that could happen again in this case. Santa Cruz County is set to start hitting serious financial problems as soon as February, Ratner said. That’s when a $1.2 million supportive housing grant, which currently houses about 50 people in different apartments around the county, is set to expire.

The Trump administration doesn’t expect to start awarding Continuum of Care money until May. It’s unclear how the lawsuits will affect that timeline.

In the meantime, Ratner and other homeless service providers are trying to remain optimistic.

“At this point, we don’t know how long the litigation process will take, but we’re hopeful it leads to a more workable path forward,” Sacramento Steps Forward CEO Lisa Bates said in a statement. “Of course, any delay in federal funding would have real impacts on communities across the country, including ours, to operate shelters, rapid rehousing, permanent supportive housing, and essential system coordination.”

This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.

Santa Monica-based doctor Salvador Plasencia was sentenced Wednesday to 30 months years in federal prison for his role in the overdose death of Friends actor Matthew Perry.

He was also ordered to pay a $5,600 fine and immediately placed in federal custody.

Perry died Oct. 28, 2023, in his Los Angeles home. The L.A. County medical examiner determined the cause was “acute effects of ketamine.” Plasencia pleaded guilty to four felony charges in July for distributing the drug.

“Rather than do what was best for Mr. Perry — someone who had struggled with addiction for most of his life — [Plasencia] sought to exploit Perry’s medical vulnerability for profit,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. “Indeed, the day [Plasencia] met Perry he made his profit motive known, telling a co-conspirator: ‘I wonder how much this moron will pay’ and ‘let’s find out.’”

Perry's mother and stepfather, Suzanne and Keith Morrison, called Plasencia among the "most culpable" of all.

"But this doctor conspired to break his most important vows, repeatedly, sneaked through the night to meet his victim in secret," the two wrote in a joint victim impact statement. "For what, a few thousand dollars? So he could feed on the vulnerability of our son."

How was Plasencia involved?

Plasencia admitted to selling Perry four vials of liquid ketamine and an open box of ketamine lozenges. Plasencia also admitted to traveling to Perry’s residence, injecting him with the drug and leaving at least one vial with Perry’s personal assistant.

Plasencia will be required to make restitution to Perry’s estate, according to his plea agreement.

His lawyers, Karen L. Goldstein and Debra S. White, said in a statement that Plasencia is not a villain.

"He is someone who made serious mistakes in his treatment decisions involving the off-label use of ketamine — a drug commonly used for depression that does not have uniform standards," the statement said. "The mistakes he made over the 13 days during which he treated Mr. Perry will stay with him forever."

Who else is involved?

He didn’t act alone, according to prosecutors. Plasencia is among five other people charged in Perry’s death, including Dr. Mark Chavez, who pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine.

Jasveen Sangha, a North Hollywood drug dealer known as “Ketamine Queen,” pleaded guilty in September to supplying the Friends actor with the drugs. She faces a maximum sentence of 65 years in federal prison. Her sentencing is set for Feb. 25. Chavez is scheduled for sentencing later this month.

The other two people involved, including Perry’s personal assistant, are scheduled for sentencing early next year.

Michael and Susan Dell will donate $6.25 billion to fund investment accounts for 25 million U.S. children, under a plan unveiled Tuesday. The money from their charitable funds would help to seed "Trump Accounts" ushered into law in July.

The gift would put $250 into each eligible child's account, which is meant to grow over time through investments in low-cost stock funds that track market indexes.

"The idea is to give millions of children a head start on saving for the future," Michael Dell told NPR. "And we know that when children have accounts like this, even with modest sums, they have better outcomes in life."

Michael Dell is the CEO of Dell Technologies.

Here's a brief guide to the accounts, and the Dells' plan:

Who would receive the Dells' gift?

To receive the Dell gift, children need to have Social Security numbers and be age 10 or under and born before Jan. 1, 2025.

Dell told NPR they're trying to reach kids who need the money the most, which is why the gift targets recipients who live in ZIP codes where the median income is less than $150,000.

The Dells say the gift will reach nearly 80% of children in the eligible age group, across 75% of ZIP codes in the U.S.

Parents need to create "Trump Accounts" to receive the gift

As part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed into law this past summer, every American baby born from this year through 2028 is in line to automatically receive a Trump Account funded with $1,000 from the U.S. Treasury.

All kids under 18 who have a Social Security number can have one of the accounts — but they don't get that initial $1,000.

The Dell gifts are meant to help kids who are too old to receive that Treasury payment.

"What we're doing with this gift is targeting kids that are 10 and under that aren't part of the federal program," Dell said.

Susan Dell encouraged parents to "mark their calendars for July 4, 2026, which is when they could claim the accounts for their children."

How Trump Accounts work

Money in Trump Accounts would grow over time, using contributions to invest in low-cost stock funds that track market indexes. When the children turn 18, they can either convert the money into a retirement account or use the money for education, buying a home, or starting a business.

Parents and others can contribute up to $5,000 annually until the year the child turns 18.

Personal finance experts say the Trump Accounts are sort of a hybrid of existing plans. And the potential benefits would vary widely depending on how much a family can contribute.

According to the White House, maximum contributions to a Trump Account could make it worth nearly $1.1 million by the time a beneficiary is 28 years old. If no additional contributions are made, it could be worth far less: $18,100.

Essential details about how the Trump Accounts will be administered remain unknown. A recent update from Charles Schwab stated, "At this time, it isn't clear who will open the account or where it will be held."

The investment bank recommends families consult a tax or financial adviser if they're interested in the plan.
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