THE CULTURE OF THE COVER UP AT SANTA RITA JAIL

Good morning, everyone,

Here’s the latest audio recording from Malik Washington, an incarcerated journalist inside Santa Rita Jail. We have included some interesting attachments in the form of pdfs to this article. Many members of the community as well as local reporters from the media have been wondering why there is so little information available to the public in regard to conditions inside Santa Rita Jail as well as information regarding the multiple deaths that have taken place inside the jail. Furthermore, many have questioned the efficacy of the implementation of the Babu Consent Decree. A key problem that we have been encountering are the reports produced by the four expert monitors that seem to be shrouded in secrecy. We want to know how does Alameda County Administrator Susan Muranishi and the Alameda County Board of Supervisors justify spending $81 million dollars on an expansion of the Santa Rita Jail when Alameda County Sheriff’s Office cannot staff the building they have now with skilled mental health staff. California Senator Nancy Skinner is demanding answers to these questions and so are we. Stay tuned….much more to come.

Audio recording from Malik Washington

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Malik Washington is an investigative journalist, U.S. Army veteran, and CEO of Destination Freedom Media Group, which he co-founded with Gale Washington. Destination Freedom Media Group, an independent nonprofit newsroom dedicated to accountability reporting at the intersection of civil rights, public integrity, disability justice, structural accountability within American institutions, and community survival.

He previously served as Editor-in-Chief of the San Francisco Bay View National Black Newspaper (2020–2021) and has been a published journalist for over 14 years.

With journalist Maura Corkery, he is co-author of The Unquiet Resignation, an investigative series on the San Francisco Unified School District produced in partnership with The Davis Vanguard.

His “Price of Being Poor” series — also produced in partnership with The Davis Vanguard — is the most sustained recent accounting of privatized public housing in San Francisco  documenting the conditions at Alice Griffith Apartments that culminated in San Francisco’s first-of-its-kind code-enforcement settlement of August 26, 2026.

His work focuses on government power, criminal justice, environmental justice, and the human consequences of policy decisions too often insulated from public scrutiny. Washington’s reporting amplifies the voices of impacted communities while insisting on documentary evidence, transparency, and the unvarnished truth—especially when institutions demand silence.

His work appears on platforms such as Muck Rack, examining the intersection of justice, governance, and community.

You can reach him via email: mwashington2059@gmail.com or call him at (719) 715-9592.

Suggestions or leads on stories are always welcome.

Please follow us on:

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/destfreedom13

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/destinationfreedom13/

X:  https://x.com/dest_freedom

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *