The Liberty County Jail remains in limited operation as county officials work urgently to address issues flagged by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, which recently failed the facility in a formal review.
County Attorney Matthew Poston, who appeared before the commission earlier this month in Austin, said the county continues to face difficulty housing approximately 100 inmates still being held in the jail. The situation is particularly challenging, he said, because many of those remaining inmates require specialized care.
“We are taking every conceivable measure to make sure that we can safely house those for whom we cannot find another facility,” Poston said. “Some of these are recent behavioral problem inmates or those with mental health or medical health concerns. Other counties typically don’t want to take them, as they require more care.”
Of the roughly 100 inmates still at the Liberty County Jail, about 60 fall into the category of needing additional medical attention, according to Poston.
“Fortunately, we have been able to resolve some of our misdemeanor cases in order to prioritize the jail for felony cases,” he said.
The county’s struggle to place inmates in other facilities began months before the Jail Commission formally cited the jail for noncompliance. The inmate population has consistently exceeded the jail’s capacity, forcing Liberty County to pay other counties, even some at great distance, to house many detainees.
At the Jail Commission hearing, Poston said it was striking to hear public testimony from dozens of attendees.
“There were so many people there to express concern because their loved ones died in jail, most in the Harris County Jail. None were about Liberty County,” he noted.
Poston emphasized that the inmates still held in Liberty County are being kept in safe conditions and are not at risk of escape.
Prior to the hearing, Liberty County officials requested two things from the Jail Commission: reconsideration of the jail closure and a hearing with the State Office of Administrative Hearings.
“They didn’t take it up. They instead sent it to the AG’s office outright,” Poston said. “We answered their questions well. While they are still trying to shut down the jail, we still haven’t been served with anything from the Attorney General’s office. This could indicate that they are giving us an opportunity to rectify some of the problems we have.”
In recent meetings, the Liberty County Commissioners Court approved contracts to install new locks at the jail — one of the deficiencies cited by the state. The cost for replacing the locks alone was $1.1 million. The County has earmarked about $5 million to make repairs at the jail.
County officials are also working to repair damage from a previous inmate uprising and a fire initially blamed on a ballast, which was later determined to have been intentionally set by an inmate.
Despite the setbacks, county leaders remain hopeful that ongoing repairs and procedural changes will demonstrate a commitment to compliance and help prevent full closure of the facility.
Should have made repairs and all other violations cited the past 3 failed inspections ,now you want more time.Close it and drain the Swamp while your at it.
What are you doing with the money from exorbitant tax increases over the past 5 years?
$1.1 Million to replace locks? What are they using gold or relatives. Need more bids maybe outside the County.
A lot of the fixes should not cost that much. Someone is going to make lots of money overcharging the jail to make repairs.
Maybe more bids are needed from out of the County. Remember a few years ago the Sheriff’s Dept. got a bid on ten patrol units but on a out of town dealer and went with a local dealer who was $300 per unit higher. The more money that’s saved the more repairs can be done.
Send them to the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) in El Salvador
Why? That’s crazy talk man.
Send some to Angola in Louisiana. The US has more in Prisons than any Country and the reason is we are to worried about their feelings but not their victims.
What about the brand new facility they built on 146? It was my understanding that was built to be a new jail. Doesn’t really look big enough, but for the amount of vehicles there, it looks too big. Or why didn’t they use the money to fix the jail instead of building that? Just a thought.