Investigation Underway After Jessie Payan, 38, Died in Custody at Infamous Men’s Central Jail in Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA (September 25, 2025) – An inmate identified as Jessie Payan has tragically died in custody while staying at the Men’s Central Jail in Los Angeles.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is saying that the incident took place on August 15. Very few details leading up to the incident have been released.
Paramedics were called to the cell of Jessie Payan to help him. But he later died due to the nature of his injuries.
His cause of death was listed as “natural” and the result of a “Non-traumatic Subdural Hematoma.” A full investigation into the death of Jessie Payan remains ongoing at this time.
Liability for Los Angeles County Inmate Deaths
Every jail in California has a legal obligation to protect inmates from foreseeable sources of harm. The United States Supreme Court has held time and time again that people detained at government facilities have certain inalienable constitutional rights under the Eighth Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment. In particular, inmates must be given adequate medical care. A jail could be liable if they are deliberately indifferent to the serious medical needs of an inmate. Deliberate indifference could take many different forms.
- Timely Medical Care: A jail may fail to provide timely medical care in the event of a medical emergency. This could include situations such as experiencing chest pains, seizures, difficulty breathing, or any number of other serious conditions.
- Inadequate Medical Care: A jail may fail to provide adequate medical care for certain inmates. This may include not providing medications to inmates with known medical conditions.
- Failure to Monitor: A jail may fail to closely monitor an inmate with a serious condition or disregard medical orders. For example, a jail may not have checked the vitals of an inmate with a chronic illness.
- Ignoring Medical Distress: A jail may have ignored signs that an inmate was in medical distress. In many cases inmates will alert guards that they need medical care only to have those requests ignored.
Los Angeles County has faced a number of lawsuits after inmates in their care have died. Consider, for example, Nyarecha v. County of Los Angeles. A 25-year-old inmate was given antipsychotic medication. According to the complaint, jail staff failed to properly monitor him for 18 hours and ignored obvious signs that he was in distress. They also dropped him while moving him from a top bunk, which led to a head injury. It was later determined his death was caused by quetiapine toxicity.
Poor Conditions at the Men’s Central Jail
The Men’s Central Jail was actually supposed to be closed a while ago. It is notorious for being an unsafe place. According to Vera, “Fifty-two people have died in Los Angeles County jails since the start of 2023. The overwhelming majority of deaths have occurred in the notorious Men’s Central Jail (MCJ), which has been slated to close for years, yet remains open.” There are many different issues and safety concerns reported at this facility.
- Unsanitary Conditions: There have been reports of mold in the facility and broken toilets covered in excrement.
- Infrastructure Problems: People have also reported that some of the cells lack functioning lights.
- Overcrowding: Another major concern is overcrowding at the jail. This can seriously impact the quality of medical care that all inmates receive.
- Medical Treatment: Some inmates have reported long delays in medical treatment.
- Violence: Physical abuse and assaults among inmates are also reported to be widespread.
It is essential that any in-custody death be properly investigated. Jails are virtually never transparent with respect to how any death takes place. In far too many situations, jails will simply label inmates’ deaths as natural, even when this designation would not make sense. Many deaths listed as natural actually involve some amount of medical neglect. The family of any person who died in custody may be able to seek some measure of justice through a civil claim.
Investigating Los Angeles County Inmate Deaths
We at Carrazco Law extend our deepest condolences to the family of Jessie Payan. Any person who may have more information about what happened should reach out to investigators. The sheer number of deaths in recent months across Los Angeles County remains deeply concerning. So many questions remain unanswered at this time. Did this person receive a proper health screening? Did jail staff adequately monitor them in the hours and minutes leading up to their death?
Do you need more information about a Los Angeles County inmate death? Our team of Los Angeles County civil rights investigators is here for you. We care deeply that people are aware of their rights and that jails are held accountable for their unconstitutional actions. Whether you just have legal questions or need a free, independent investigation into any incident, we are here to serve your needs. You can reach out to us anytime at (800) 541-3244.
