A man charged with aggravated kidnapping for ransom was the first inmate to petition for his release following a judge’s order to reduce the Orange County, California, jail population by half due to safety concerns over the spread of COVID-19, according to Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer.
Superior Court Judge Peter J. Wilson ordered Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes to reduce the inmate population in Orange County jails by 50 percent by Dec. 18 because of a COVID outbreak in the system, following a lawsuit filed by the ACLU on behalf of high-risk inmates.
