Orange County should prioritize mental health over more jail space

With very little public discussion or input, on May 5, the Orange County Board of Supervisors quietly voted to give Bernard Bros. Inc. approximately $261 million to build almost 900 new jail beds at the James A. Musick jail in Irvine. But jail is simply no place for individuals suffering from serious mental illness, even if the jail gets labeled with a mental health tag.
This is because people struggling with mental illness do not do well in jail. They are too often victimized, or their tenuous