News & Commentary written by Daisy Ramirez

Daisy Ramirez is the Orange County Jails Conditions and Policy Coordinator at the ACLU of Southern California. Her work includes examining conditions of confinement in county jails and advocating with people in custody and their loved ones. Daisy is part of the case teams in Campbell v. Barnes and Ahlman v. Barnes. The suits seek to force Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes and the county to take urgent steps to remedy conditions in the jails during the pandemic and protect medically vulnerable people from COVID-19.

Daisy’s community engagement, public education and advocacy work centers the idea that we need transformative justice instead of punishment and aims to promote divestment from jails and investment in people and community. In 2017, she co-wrote Orange County Jails, a two-year investigative report by the ACLU SoCal Jails Project, revealing violent, abusive and unhealthy conditions in OC’s jails system. Daisy also helped launch a voter education and registration program working to increase access to voting for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people in Orange County.

Prior to joining the ACLU, Daisy received a Master of Social Work degree with a concentration in Community Organization, Planning and Administration from the University of Southern California. She received her bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Chicago.