Santa Barbara County will join other counties in the state in requiring inmate deaths to be investigated by an independent coroner instead of the one contracted by the Sheriff’s Office.
Assembly Bill 1108, introduced by Assemblyman Gregg Hart, D-Santa Barbara, will require the Sheriff’s Office to hand over investigations of deaths that occur in its custody to independent coroners in different counties or hire a private independent examiner.
California is one of three states in the country that allow for elected sheriffs to also act as coroners. Hart said the new law will not only change that but increase confidence in the justice system…