Midstate jails consider overcrowding options
The names of at least 30 offenders — most of them probation violators or those awaiting a hearing — will be submitted to a local judge with the local prosecutor’s recommendation for release.
“If you get one of them out of here, that’s a blessing,” said Wilson County Sheriff Terry Ashe. “That’s one less person we have to step over to do our job.”
Wilson County is not the only one in the region dealing with overcrowding.
Recent jail inspections performed by the state showed that several Midstate county jails have been struggling with the problem for years, many times mixing violent offenders with those accused of lesser crimes because of lack of space.
Of more than four dozen county jails in Middle Tennessee, 14 have violated the minimum standards of operation set forth by a state-run oversight agency, records show. As a result, all 14 have lost state certification.
The Wilson County facility was built for 106 beds but now houses more than twice that many inmates, Ashe said. Some offenders sleep on the floor, while others occupy the medical ward. About 20 have been farmed out to other facilities in the region.
Similar juggling takes place in other jails across the Midstate, the inspections noted. Jail administrators and county sheriffs said they’re forced to work with what they have because local governments offer little financial support for renovations or expansions.
A $15 million project to enlarge the Wilson County Jail by 300 beds is under way but won’t be finished for a couple of years, Ashe said. He recently sent a letter to county officials urging them to help address the issue.
“I’ve got the flu season approaching, and I’ve got to get some of these people off the floor,” he said.
In addition, Ashe said the infrastructure of the jail is also suffering. Jail inspections also found that to be the case at other jails in the region.
“The kitchen stoves and refrigerators are wearing out,” he said. “I’ve got water and electric lines that were not designed to serve 230 people.”
Ashe said he’s afraid that if his jail continues to swell, he will not be able to prevent violence.
Several lawsuits, some of them settled for thousands of dollars outside the courtroom, were filed against Wilson County several years ago alleging that inmates were beaten. Two people died while in jail custody, resulting in a federal investigation.
A federal criminal case in the 2003 death of Walter Steven Kuntz, 43, is still pending. Kuntz died in the jail two days after being arrested. The medical examiner ruled his death a homicide. Wilson County paid his family $400,000 in a civil suit settlement.
Wilson County Mayor Robert Dedman said he agrees with Ashe but doesn’t know how to relieve the overcrowding immediately.
“If it’s not a very serious crime, maybe they shouldn’t lock them up in jail,” he said. “Maybe they should take the nonviolent offenders and lock them up somewhere else short-term. But they would need guards. We would have to find space. That’s a problem.”