Magistrates To Hear About Crowded Jail

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Magistrates To Hear About Crowded Jail

Kingsport Times-News – …‘Sheriff’s department officials say overcrowding is rapidly becoming a grave problem, and if present trends continue, they’ll soon be full up…‘This started at about the time of the recession.”… Read More

Magistrates To Hear About Crowded Jail By DAVID OSTERHOUT Times-News Staff Writer It may not be long before Sullivan County hangs out a no-vacancy sign in front of its jail. Sheriff's department officials say overcrowding is rapidly becoming a grave problem, and if present trends continue, they'll soon be full up. And with more prisoners on hand than anticipated, the money for food also is running low, say Chief Deputy Laddie Harwood and Jailer Clyde Baldwin. Their concern is deep enough that they intend to lay the issue before the Sullivan County Court Safety Committee and buttonhole other magistrates so that thinking can begin on how to bring about a solution. Harwood said, “We need to get the people thinking. The taxpayers realize that we've got the (prisoners ) up here. They must also realize the prisoners are human beings who have to be fed and housed.” Looking toward the future, the law officers estimate that jail capacity would have to be doubled to accommodate the rapid rise in inmates. Baldwin said, “We're going to need either another floor or a new jail. If we add an extra floor, the whole thing will have to be surveyed to see if the foundation would take it. And now, the plumbing is busted, worn out. It would probably have to be reworked from the bottom up. Harwood said he isn't criticizing county court for jail conditions although he did say that in the case of the plumbing, “It's been studied to death,” and nothing’s been done. “We have complete confidence in the court. We're going to tell them, "We've got the problem; you've got the wisdom." We just want to lay our proposal before them,” said Harwood.He added, “These (the court members) are businessmen. They know if the prisoners are out on the street, someone will have to pay. Turning them loose is not the answer.” So Thursday, Harwood will go before the safety committee to lay groundwork for some type of jail capacity study. He also intends to talk to "interested" squires on other committees. Since prisoners are arriving in greater numbers than expected, Harwood will be making two main points: the jail isn't big enough, and the food budget is being stretched to the limit. Present capacity is 116 beds including a special wing for juveniles. Last weekend, There were 116 prisoners at Blountville, according to Baldwin. In theory, there should have been enough beds to go around, but that was not the case. Baldwin uses a 12-person cell for female prisoners. Since he rarely has more than eight women inmates, the other beds stay empty. That leaves four prisoners without a bed. The overflow is put in the “holding tank” or sleep on mattresses on the cell floors. Harwood blamed the inmate influx on two developments: the declining economy which he feels has led to more felony cases and to an increased emphasis on making sure that drunk drivers get at least a two-day taste of jail life. Harwood said the increase in prisoners was first felt in 1974. He pointed to a graph which reflected these statistics on felony cases: 1971 — 1,077; 1972 — 993; 1973 — 901; 1974 — 1580; with 2,580 projected for this year.” Harwood said, ‘‘This started at about the time of the recession. When times get harder, it seems like we get more inmates.” And in the case of DWI violators, the Sullivan County District Attorney General's Office has estimated that that total amount of jail time has risen by about 700 per cent from last year. With a normal jail population of about 100 prisoners, earlier budget estimates are outdated. The food budget was figured on populations of about 65 to 70 prisoners. Harwood said he’s keeping within the estimated costs through cutbacks on waste. “We're just like the housewife. We know we only have just so much money, and we're trying to live with it,” he said. Nevertheless, Baldwin feels, "We'll never make it. We'll run out of money just like we did last year.” The problem is further aggravated by overcrowding at state institutions. The sheriff's department was notified Tuesday that the Tennessee State Penitentiary will not accept any new admissions until Friday. Harwood commented, “It’s only three days this time, but who knows, they could pull it again.”
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