Activists hail signing of 'Wakiesha's Law,' which requires prompt notification of in-custody deaths

Civil rights activists and members of Wakiesha Wilson's family on Thursday lauded the enactment of "Wakiesha's Law," which requires families to be informed within 24 hours if a loved one in custody is hospitalized or dies.

The law was prompted by Wakiesha Wilson's 2016 in-custody death, with her mother and others saying they did not learn of her passing for more than three days after it occurred.

"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," Assemblyman Isaac Bryan said at a Thursday morning news conference outside Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles.

Wilson's mother, Lisa Hines, also attended the news conference.

"When I found out my baby had died, it was the four longest days of my life," Hines said.

The law requires county, city, and municipal jails to inform families within 24 hours if a loved one is hospitalized due to a serious or critical medical condition or dies while in custody.

Wilson died while in custody on March 27, 2016. Her family did not learn about her death for several days.

"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," Hines said.

Said Bryan: ""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."