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| Deal keeps inmates off of the jail floor |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 08/25/2003 |
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Inmates at the Jackson County, Ore., Jail will no longer sleep on the floor under the terms of a federal court settlement. The county reached an agreement with inmates represented by the American Civil Liberties Union. It abolishes mattresses on cell floors and increases the jail's inmate capacity from 190 daily to more than 225. 'We're very pleased at this outcome,' said Polly Nelson, educational director for the ACLU of Oregon. 'We're hoping it will simplify things for the county and improve conditions for the inmates.' U.S. Magistrate James Redden still must sign off on the settlement, which may happen this week, said Doug McGeary, assistant county counsel. Unbeknownst to county officials, the jail was violating federal law by having inmates sleep on the floor, a common practice during the weekends when staff was not coordinating releases, and the jail ran out of bunks, McGeary said. Federal courts in various cases since the 1980s have ruled that forcing inmates to sleep on the floor is a violation of their constitutional rights, he said. McGeary said he and other county officials became aware of the problem during the past month. Language in the settlement prevents prisoners who have slept on the floor from suing the county, McGeary said. Faced with overcrowding, the jail releases large numbers of inmates each week to meet a court-imposed population cap, said Jackson County Sheriff Mike Winters. |
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