Criminal Justice Reform: To Jail or not to Jail?

In the Sentinel article “Local officials weigh in on sentencing reform,” Douglas County officials down played the impact criminal justice reforms would have on the county’s justice system. If the Georgia Legislature passes these reforms, it will drastically cut the county jail population and eliminate any need for the new $120 million jail.

The cost to run the Douglas County jail is almost $14 million per year, out of a $75 million county budget. County law enforcement is an additional $11 million a year and the court system is $7 million. This is in addition to police, jail and court costs of the cities of Douglasville and Villa Rica.

In December, the jail population was 736 inmates. This is down from over 800 inmates a few years ago when Sheriff Phil Miller and County Chairman Tom Worthan tried to sell the need for a new jail with 1,500 beds.

About 175 convicted inmates are doing county jail time (a sentence of 12 months or less). About 150 convicted inmates have been sentenced to state prison (a sentence longer than 12 months), but have not been transferred. The bulk of the county jail population, more than 400 inmates, sits in the Douglas County jail awaiting trial.

I toured the jail with a commissioner. We were shown at least 150 empty beds at a time when the sheriff claimed the jail was “dangerously overcrowded.” We were told horror stories about a “crumbling, dilapidated” jail with leaky pipes, dangerous mold and inmates using bed sheets to unlock cell doors. Sheriff Miller and Chief Deputy Stan Copeland made all these assertions and more, and the Douglas County Sentinel printed the screaming front page headlines.

During this time, Sheriff Miller claimed the state refused to pick up prisoners from the county jail to ease overcrowding and that he was helpless to take any other action. An open records request disclosed there was no petition by the sheriff for the removal of state prisoners. So, while Sheriff Miller publicly declared an emergency, he never bothered to officially request the removal of state inmates! I believe these inmates were used to generate cash, fill up empty beds and crowd the existing facility in an attempt to justify the construction of a new jail. If at the time the sheriff had pressed the state to remove state prisoners to existing, available facilities, any overcrowding would have been eliminated as well as the need for a new jail.

Sheriff Miller also publicly made a shocking revelation. In a strange twist, he revealed his plan to pack a new jail with state and federal prisoners, if the commissioners would allow it. He wanted to bring more prisoners into the county! Since then, the federal government has released and deported hundreds of thousands of prisoners, eliminating the need to look to state and county jails for relief.

District Attorney David McDade stated in the Sentinel article: “The Douglas County jail holds inmates that are pre-adjudication, meaning they haven’t been convicted yet, so changes in sentencing won’t have much of an impact on the number of people awaiting trial. It would affect the prison population, it would not affect the jail population.” What McDade fails to admit is that pre-trial, non-convicted, non-violent inmates could be released with reasonable or no bond while awaiting trial. The county currently has the discretion and authority to do this. And, if further reform is approved by the legislature, it would have an even more dramatic impact upon reducing the jail population without endangering public safety.

More than 60 percent of inmates are there for non-violent offenses. McDade asked “What’s your definition of a non-violent offender?” The definition is a person who has not committed a violent offense. It’s clearly defined by law.

Why are so many unconvicted people sitting in the Douglas County jail awaiting a hearing or a trial? How long must they wait? Can bonds be reduced? Can the courts speed up the process and reduce back logs? Do county officials even want a solution?

The criminal justice system has failed us miserably. It is broken. County officials are in denial. They are in large part responsible for the problem. The public should get behind Governor Deal and legislative reform efforts and push for immediate action. Justice demands it.

James Bell

Georgia Taxpayers Alliance, Inc.