Questions About Our Jail Overcrowding

To the Editor:

Regarding the possibility of needing a new county jail, perhaps other less expensive solutions should be examined first. Last Friday’s article in the FCR left me with many questions.

• How much does the state pay the county for TDCJ prisoners awaiting transfer? Does it cover the cost of paying Lee County when there is an overflow in Fayette County?

• Why are there only two dates per month for felony and misdemeanor courts? It would seem that adding additional days to move people through the system would be more cost effective.

• How many days on average each month is the jail at capacity?

• How many people currently in the county jail are pretrial? Of those, how many are a threat to others and need to be locked up?

• For those who are a threat to themselves, is there a solution to assist these people other than jail? Would it be more helpful and cost effective than our county jail?

• When a person is taken to county jail, how quickly is their arraignment? Do they have counsel at that hearing? Is the county expediting the release of people who have jobs and family responsibilities who aren’t a risk to others?

• Are reasonable bonds being set by the judge to allow those of limited income to be released?

What it boils down to is this: Is the county holding people who don’t need to be there? Is the county holding people for longer than is necessary because of limited court dates? Is the county fairly treating all arrested regardless of economic status and/or race? A person is innocent until proven guilty. If the charges don’t necessitate keeping a person confined pretrial, they should be released. A $40 million expenditure needs to be absolutely necessary before the county moves forward.

I encourage full examination of less costly measures before making a decision. Also, Chief Deputy Noviskie needs to remember that he is dealing with human beings, not “anything that comes in off the streets.”

Becky Snyder La Grange