News and Press Releases

By Darwin BondGraham – The Appeal – Mar 11, 2020 San Francisco Officials Push to Reduce Jail Population to Prevent Coronavirus Outbreak The public defender and district attorney both directed their staffs to keep individuals who are more vulnerable to the virus out of jail. The two public officials on opposing ends of San Francisco’s criminal legal system are taking...

Release some inmates to ease coronavirus threat in jail, California official says By Don Sweeny – March 11, 2020 – The Sacramento Bee Should jails free some inmates to help curb the spread of coronavirus? Yes, one California official says. Mano Raju, the San Francisco public defender, released a statement Tuesday urging sheriff’s officials to immediately release some prisoners, particularly...

SAN FRANCISCO — Today, in an effort to limit the spread of the coronavirus, the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office will begin filing motions to seek the immediate release of all clients being held pre-trial in San Francisco county jails who are at heightened risk of illness from the virus.  People at heightened risk for the virus include: people over 60,...

Public defender calls for measures to prevent a coronavirus outbreak in jail By Michael Barba – San Francisco Examiner As the number of coronavirus cases rises in San Francisco, Public Defender Manohar Raju has called on the sheriff to provide a full accounting of the steps being taken to prevent an outbreak from spreading among inmates at County Jail. Raju...

SAN FRANCISCO, MARCH 5, 2020 –  This morning, all charges were dismissed against Kenneth Ofigho, 31, a former employee of Edgewood Center, who has consistently maintained his innocence after being wrongly accused of inappropriately touching a minor in April 2019.  The charges were dismissed after a lengthy review of all the evidence, including the lack of any DNA evidence, and...