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'Grave Risk Of Harm': Suit Claims LA Not Protecting Jail Inmates

(Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images)

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Cramped and unsanitary conditions. Too few masks. Not enough soap.

Unless something is done to improve the situation in L.A. County's jails,"prisoners are going to die at an incredible rate," claims attorney Dan Stormer.

He represents two advocacy groups and nine inmates who filed a lawsuit Friday claiming the county and Sheriff Alex Villanueva have failed to protect the thousands of inmates in L.A.'s jails.

To fight the virus' spread, Villanueva reduced the jail population from about 17,000 at the end of February to just under 13,000 by April 1. But the suit says he needs to do more.

The Sheriff's Department didn't have an immediate comment on the suit, which seeks class action status.

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