RACIAL TENSION EX-PROSECUTOR NOW BACKS INMATES.

Byline: Orith Goldberg Staff Writer

CASTAIC - Christopher Darden, the O.J. Simpson prosecutor who made a career of sending crooks to jail, is now their advocate.

Contacted by parents of African-American inmates in Los Angeles County jails, Darden said the issue is one of human rights, not crime. African-Americans have been targeted at the Pitchess Detention Center in Castaic and other jails by Latino prison gangs, sheriff's officials believe.

``Their safety is important to us,'' Darden said in a recent interview. ``It is important that they emerge from the system whole.''

``The judge didn't sentence them to die, the judge just sentenced them to county jail.''

A series of riots that began April 28 at the Castaic jail complex has united local African-American leaders - Darden among them - to address flaws in a jail system they say is breeding racial contempt.

``This is the first time we have had African-American leaders step up to the plate and address the situation,'' said Najee Ali, founder and director of Project Islamic Helping Oppressed People Everywhere.

Of key concern to the group is the eventual reintegration of the Pitchess jails hit last week with violence that left two African-American inmates hospitalized and dozens of other men injured.

Darden, 44, now practicing criminal law, said he is lending support to the cause because it is a humanitarian issue.

``Something has to be done,'' he said. ``We have put the (Sheriff's Department) on notice. Each and every black man in the county jail is a potential homicide victim.''

The African-American inmates interviewed by this newly created advocacy group want to remain segregated.

As a compromise, Melvin Farmer, an ex-convict devoted to carrying causes for men still behind bars, wants to negotiate proportionate representation of the races in the jail dorms. Farmer is vice president of the National Alliance for Positive Action, a civil rights group looking into jail violence.

African-American inmates said they are sorely outnumbered by Latinos and when fighting erupts, they don't stand a chance. Advocates have suggested diversity training for both sides, but see safety as the leading issue.

If the Sheriff's Department is going act as the jailer, it has a legal duty to protect the African-American inmates, Darden said.

He is concerned about inmates' reports that guards did not respond quickly to the fighting, knew in advance that violence was brewing but didn't warn inmates and, later, did not provide proper medical attention. Sheriff's officials said detectives will interview all of the victims, but it is a timely process.

``I saw an inmate with a swollen hand that he believes is fractured and he has not received medical attention,'' Darden said.

Darden and Farmer said they had a list of inmates' names who needed medical attention.

The soft-spoken Darden said that when he was a deputy district attorney, he was mindful of where he was sending defendants and suggested prosecutors tour jail facilities.

He was candid about the conditions, and noted inequities for minorities in the justice system, a system he left after the infamous Simpson acquittal.

Somebody eventually will be killed in the jail fighting, he said, and it probably will be an inmate who is African-American and too poor to post bail.

``African-Americans are still human beings and still have a right to be treated like human beings,'' Darden said.

For the present, inmate safety is of top concern, and that could mean continued segregation, he said.

``If the Sheriff's Department can guarantee safety while the inmates are in general population, that would be great,'' Darden said. ``Apparently they have not yet, so in that case, segregation seems to be the appropriate response.''

Sheriff's officials said they have tried to keep a racial balance in jail dorms, but it is difficult because Pitchess has a transient population with inmates being released, heading to court or being sentenced to state prison.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo: (1 -- color in SAC edition only) Christopher Darden, left, Najee Ali and Melvin Farmer discuss racial violence at the Pitchess Detention Center.

(2 -- color -- ran in SAC edition only) Former O.J. Simpson trial prosecutor Christopher Darden now devotes his career toward human rights issues.

Evan Yee/Staff Photographer