Sheriff Lee Baca Installs a Reformer

Last fall a blue-ribbon commission blamed Sheriff Lee Baca for violence against inmates at LA County jails. The general counsel said, "If he doesn't fix the jails, [Baca] should not be re-elected." Undersheriff Paul Tanaka, who ran the jails, has announced his retirement, and Baca has appointed an outsider to assume responsibility for nine facilities that house more than 18,000 inmates. Terri McDonald, formerly with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, is now the Assistant Sheriff overseeing the Custody Division.