Local NAACP opposes new Madison Co. jail

JACKSON, Tenn. — The local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People asked Madison County commissioners on Monday to reconsider building a new jail.

“We don’t necessarily need to build a jail,” Jackson-Madison County NAACP President Harrell Carter said.

Carter talked about jail overcrowding at the commission meeting on Monday. He said Madison County does not have to build a jail to reduce the inmate population.

“We can do that through alternative sentencing, through the lack of, decreasing or eliminating such high bonds,” he said.

Madison County Commission Chairman Gary Deaton said the state will probably close the penal farm and annex, leaving the county with just more than 300 beds at the jail. Deaton said he is told the county needs about 700 beds.

“We would love to see the reduction in the folks we have to lock up, but many times we have no control over that,” Deaton said.

In September, Deaton said building a new jail could cost upward of $30 million. “I would like to see all of us participate in whatever level we can, but right now we have a mandate from the state to build a new jail,” Deaton said.

Commissioner Claudell Brown said he is not convinced the county needs a new jail. “There’s a difference between us needing a jail and needing jail space,” he said.

Carter said he would rather see the money spent on education. “The only way that we’re going to solve the problem is to eliminate the conditions that causes it in the first place,” he said.

Deaton said once they determine what the county needs, they will have a better understanding of what it might cost.