Wakiesha’s Law Brings Urgent, Long-Needed Protection for Families After In-Custody Tragedies

The passage of Wakiesha’s Law is being celebrated as a long overdue and deeply necessary protection for families who deserve transparency and dignity when a loved one is in custody. Civil rights advocates and members of Wakiesha Wilson’s family gathered in Los Angeles to honor the significance of a measure that finally addresses the silence and unnecessary suffering that families like hers have endured. The law mandates that families be informed within 24 hours if someone in custody is hospitalized with a serious medical condition or dies,  a basic safeguard that many say should have existed long ago.

The urgency of this legislation comes from the tragedy of Wakiesha Wilson, who died in an LAPD holding cell in 2016. Her family did not learn of her death for more than three days. As Assemblyman Isaac Bryan reminded attendees, “It was nearly 10 years ago where she lost her life in an LAPD holding cell, and it was several days after that before her family found out what had happened.” For supporters of the law, this failure wasn’t just procedural,  it was a profound injustice that forced a grieving family to suffer in darkness.

Wakiesha’s mother, Lisa Hines, spoke with painful clarity about the toll that silence took on her. “When I found out my baby had died, it was the four longest days of my life,” she said. She explained that her hope for the new legislation is simple: that no other family be left uninformed and unsupported during the worst moment imaginable. “I pray — well, I shouldn’t have to be praying about it now because Wakiesha’s Law has been passed — but I was praying that no one endure the four longest days of their life as I did.”

Bryan emphasized that state leaders understood the gravity of this issue, noting, “Wakiesha’s law was signed by the governor this past September, and it was signed with an urgency clause, which means it was passed with a two-thirds majority and went into effect immediately.” For many, that immediacy signals a collective recognition that families deserve timely information, respect, and accountability. Supporters see this as the right kind of legislation, one that brings humanity, transparency, and long-needed change to custodial systems across California.

Link: ABC7

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