‘We do want a fundamental restructuring,’ says the founder of Youth to End Solitary SD. His group will sit down Wednesday with Sheriff Kelly Martinez.
They can’t yet vote, but they’re not waiting to engage their elected representatives. A small group of local high school students has launched a political campaign to reduce or eliminate solitary confinement in San Diego County jails, joining a dedicated team of adults who have been waging the fight for years.
Calling themselves Youth to End Solitary SD, or YES SD, the teenage activists have been lobbying elected officials in recent months to promote their policy positions.
“We do want a fundamental restructuring of how we address inmates who pose a threat to themselves and vulnerable inmates like the LGBTQ+ and the elderly,” said Nikhil Plettner Booker, a 17-year-old who will start his senior year at San Diego High School next month. Nikhil Plettner Booker and Ashley Ordaz plan for their later discussion with Sheriff Kelly Martinez on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, in San Diego.
Plettner Booker founded the activist group late last year with eight or so members out of a shared concern for people trapped in the criminal justice system. YES SD has an ambitious two-pronged plan to persuade the sheriff to find alternatives to so-called administrative separation, or “ad sep,” for mentally ill people in custody.
They want to persuade the sheriff to rely less on isolation cells and at the same time to improve treatment for those in need.
“Putting an individual who is suffering from mental illness in isolation, without any meaningful access to psychological support, is going to increase the chances that they will hurt themselves,” Plettner Booker said. The activists cite study after study that have detailed the harms caused by of isolation cells, including in San Diego County jails.
Just last summer, two men in so-called administrative segregationSo far, the activists have met with state Assemblymember LaShae Sharp-Collins, a San Diego Democrat representing the 79th District, and county Supervisor Monica Montgomery Steppe, who has pushed for jail reforms.
“Meeting with constituents, listening to different perspectives and engaging in thoughtful dialogue are important parts of public service,” Montgomery Steppe said. “I appreciate these students for taking the initiative to learn about an issue, organize their peers and participate in the democratic process. ” They also have met with families of people who died in isolation in San Diego County jails.
And they have toured two facilities so far — and plan to visit the Men’s Central Jail in downtown San Diego on Thursday. Nikhil Plettner Booker and Ashley Ordaz plan for their later discussion with Sheriff Kelly Martinez on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, in San Diego.
Ashley Ordaz is an incoming senior at University City High School who met Plettner Booker through the, a local charitable effort that works to engage young people in their democracy. She said YES SD was borne out of a mutual concern for people whose lives and families have been harmed by solitary confinement in particular.
“I do have a few friends with family members who did not make it out” of jail, Ordaz said. “Not only did I experience it firsthand with my friends and family, the more research you do, the more you realize that putting these people in isolation is not improving their health at all. Several YES SD members also attended recent meetings of the, the civilian oversight board for the county Sheriff’s Office and Probation Department.
There they met Yusef Miller, the longtime North County Equity and Justice Coalition executive who also runs Saving Lives in Custody California, the nonprofit organization started by Paloma Serna, whose 24-year-old daughter died in the Law Colinas women’s jail in 2019. Miller called the group a dedicated coalition of energetic, focused and strategic young people who will surely make a difference.
“I look forward to several very impactful outcomes from this coalition, now and in the future,” he said. “I believe that their voice will carry a lot of weight — not only because their campaign is righteous but because their vibrant, energetic delivery will caution the wise to move the needle.
”saying they are often left alone for 23 hours a day — or more.in part of a class-action lawsuit in which the sheriff agreed to rely less on isolation cells and to offer more treatment and out-of-cell time to mental-health patients. That deal removes sworn staff’s ability to overrule mental health providers and seeks to prevent people from being held in solitary confinement for weeks or months on end.
Like any effective activist group, YES SD scheduled a press conference at the Sheriff’s Office headquarters for Wednesday soon after their meeting with Martinez.
“The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office appreciates the time, effort, and thoughtful research that Youth to End Solitary SD and its partners dedicated to developing and presenting their preliminary policy proposal regarding Administrative Separation and detention practices,” sheriff’s spokesperson Lt. David Collins said in a statement.
“We also recognize and value the commitment of these young community leaders to studying and engaging in complex issues affecting modern criminal justice,” he added. Collins said the office is now reviewing the 19-page policy statement YES SD submitted ahead of the meeting with the sheriff, but no new policy decisions have yet been made.
“We recognize the importance of engaging with community stakeholders and appreciate the perspectives offered through this proposal,” he said.
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