After an unsuccessful run for San Diego County District Attorney, former public defender Geneviéve Jones-Wright is embarking on a new project.
On Tuesday the organization she founded, Motivation in Action, will launch a criminal justice reform speaker series called Transformational Tuesdays. In a partnership with the local advocacy group San Diegans for Criminal Justice Reform, weekly community discussions with advocates, community leaders and academic experts will focus on ideas for reforming the criminal justice system.
The first topic of the speaker series will explore the role of sheriffs in the criminal justice system.
"We've seen a lot of issues within our county jails with suicides that were successful also ones that were simply attempted. We see a lot of issues surrounding the inmates in our county jails dealing with mental health and how they're not being provided with good mental health services and yet the jails, under the watch of the sheriff, provides the most mental health treatment in the county. And so I really wanted to focus on the role of the sheriff and how we can rethink the role of the sheriff," Jones-Wright said.
The first event is Tuesday, August 6 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Valencia Park/Malcolm X Branch Library.
KPBS reached out to the San Diego County Sheriff's department for a response to calls for reforms.
In an emailed statement the sheriff's department said, "Our goal is to provide a safe and healthy environment for those within our jail facilities. In addition to providing services with dignity and respect we are constantly evaluating and improving medical and mental health services to fit the needs of our population."
