Bristol Herald Courier – …Sullivan county’s jail has long been a disgrace to a people otherwise justly proud of their progress as a great unit of a great state, The jail committee has pointed the way to correction of that disgrace… Read More
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![Proposed New Jail Acutely Needed by Sullivan County Present Housing Condition Disgraceful A New Jail Needed The special committee appointed recently by the Sullivan county court to investigate overcrowded conditions at the county jai] in Blountville will recommend to the court at its January meeting the erection of a new building, and it is to be hoped the magistrates no longer will defer action on a problem that grows more acute with the passing of the years. The committee did not jump at conclusions in deciding that new jail was needed, rather it gave serious consideration to the advisability of enlarging or remodeling the present structure in the interest of economy. That the committee, in the final analysis, rejected the latter course as one of false economy speaks well for the foresightedness of its individual members. The cost of a new jail need not be prohibitive, particularly if prison labor and rock from the county’s quarries are used, as has been suggested. The new building, as will be recommended to the court by the committee, would house at least 150 prisoners and would be modern and substantial in every respect, permitting of enlargement. should that become necessary at any future time That Sullivan county really needs a new jail will not be denied by anyone remotely acquainted with the situation as it now exists and has existed for many years past. Briefly, the jail is as out-moded as other relics of the “horse and buggy” era in which it was erected and no amount of enlarging or remodeling within financial reason will make it otherwise, and to incorporate it in a new building would be to destroy the architectural effect of the whole. Built to accommodate at most not more than sixty prisoners, the jail frequently houses more than one hundred and-these of necessity are crowded together almost indiscriminately, only the sexes being segregated. Such a situation, aside from rendering non-existent the little personal comfort to which even a prisoner is entitled, tends to indescribable sanitary — conditions - scores are compelled to use the same toilet, healthy prisoners are crowded in with diseased, and there is no way even to isolate those afflicted with venereal diseases. Few owners of thoroughbred horses would care to subject their animals to such dangers of environment The situation is not to be construed as an indictment of Sheriff J. D. Newland and his deputies nor of their predecessors in office. Sheriff Newland is making the best of a bad situation - he Is charged with the responsibility of confining to the county jail those committed to his care by the courts and he has no choice but to confine them to the building set aside by the-county for that purpose. That matters are no worse are due to his efforts on behalf of the prisoners, some of which he has released on parole rather than subject them to imprisonment under the circumstances. Sullivan county's jail has long been a disgrace to a people otherwise justly proud of their progress as a great unit of a great state, The jail committee has pointed the way to correction of that disgrace - it is up to the county court to do the correcting.](https://tennquest.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/1937-12-05-proposed-new-jail-acutely-needed-The_Bristol_Herald_Courier-567x1024.jpg)
