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| Rankin County jail expansion falls behind |
| By Heather Civil |
| Published: 04/13/2009 |
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Work on a $7 million Rankin County Jail expansion is about two months behind schedule, and crowding at the facility has forced the Sheriff's Department to stop housing misdemeanor offenders there. Many charged with misdemeanors in Rankin County can be sent home with a citation or summons to court. But those who must be held are being sent to jails that have space. "We will find somewhere to put them if we have to," said Capt. Ronnie Conerly with the Pearl Police Department. The 96-bed jail expansion was to be finished by the end of this month, but rain and the need for additional work on the roof have put it behind, said Rankin County Sheriff Ronnie Pennington. He hopes the facility will be ready to open by the end of June. The jail was built with a 309-inmate capacity but averages a daily population of 350, Pennington said. When the population hits 375 or more, the sheriff allows only felons and those charged with domestic violence to be housed. The numbers vary daily, Pennington said. "It's not safe for the staff or the inmates (when it gets too crowded)," he said. Jail crowding sent a Pearl couple charged with animal cruelty to the Madison County Jail last week. Madison charges about $20 a day per inmate in its 250-bed jail. "We usually have room," Madison County Administrator Donnie Caughman said. Caughman did not know how many Rankin inmates are currently at the jail, and Sheriff Toby Trowbridge could not be reached. Bond for the Pearl couple remains at $15,000. Read more. If link has expired, check the website of the article's original news source. |
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