'Culture of violence' alleged at county jail

The Men's Central Jail in downtown Los Angeles fosters a "culture of violence and fear" that allows guards to routinely deliver brutal beatings to prisoners, resulting in broken bones and other severe injuries, the ACLU alleged in a report released Wednesday. Troy Anderson in the Daily News.

In the 64-page report uncovering "30 years of medieval abuse," the authors described an atmosphere in which inmates fear retaliation if they speak out, allowing guards to abuse them with little restraint.

"I routinely see injuries on prisoners when I go to the jail," said Mary Tiedeman, the jails project coordinator for the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California. "I routinely see black eyes, broken ribs and other broken bones. I see boot marks on people's backs and long marks on their bodies that look like they are from flashlight (beatings). I see that a lot."