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| Ind. Sheriff Put in Contempt for Jail Crowding |
| By Indianapolis Star |
| Published: 07/11/2003 |
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A federal judge found Sheriff Frank Anderson in contempt on Thursday for the dangerous and inhumane conditions in the Marion County Jail. U.S. District Court Judge Sarah Evans Barker set a 1,135-inmate cap on the jail, to be phased in over the next nine months, and will fine county taxpayers $40 a day for each inmate over the limit. The jail held 1,255 inmates today. Barker said blame does not fall entirely on Anderson's shoulders. 'The failures ... represent the cumulative results of derelictions of duty in every branch and at every level of county, city and state government,' Barker said in her 20-page order. Barker made a surprise inspection of the jail on Monday. The jail, described as the nation's ninth-most-crowded, has been the subject of a 31-year battle over it's population. Barker had given local officials until Tuesday to solve the problems or face fines. The jail continues to hold too many prisoners even though the sheriff bought more than 200 beds in Marion County Jail II last month. Now all 992 beds in the privately run facility are occupied by Marion County inmates. The Indiana Civil Liberties Union had asked Barker to cap the jail's population at 1,134 and fine the county $40 a day for each inmate over the limit. The facility has seen as many as 1,664 prisoners crammed into a space with 1,310 permanent beds. Until today the court has simply said every inmate must have a bed, a requirement the jail staff meets with the use of plastic cots. The jail held 1,426 inmates June 29; 1,363 inmates Saturday; and 1,349 inmates Monday. A short-term fix could include moving jail inmates into beds in the Marion County Lockup, Murray said. The lockup in the City-County Building, where the newly arrested are detained, has room for 240. It held 77 Monday. Pot smokers, those driving with a suspended license and other petty criminals already are getting ticketed instead of going to jail. In addition, judges released more than 3,500 inmates in 2002 and nearly 1,300 this year because of crowding. Since their release, some of those have gone on to be accused of serious crimes, including murder. Judges released 47 inmates last weekend, Superior Court Administrator Mark Renner said. |
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