We
are confident we can work with
the commission to provide a jail
that is both safe for inmates
and provides the protection the
community needs to keep violent
criminals off the streets," he
said.
The commission's report didn't
mention any health-care problems
at the jail, but the civil
rights groups who toured the
jail last week said they were
shocked by the health conditions
there.
Vickie Randall, executive
director of the Ministry
Advisory Council, said she saw
one inmate with an infection on
his leg that had sunk into the
bone, while other inmates had
rashes all over their bodies.
Clogged toilets had overflowed
onto floors where inmates slept,
she said.
"They look like slaves down
there," said the Rev. Robert
Jefferson, founding member of
the Houston Ministers Against
Crime. "It's deplorable. I can
understand what our forefathers
went through traveling on those
ships."
Yolanda Smith, executive
director of the Houston chapter
of the National Association for
the Advancement of Colored
People, said civic leaders were
not targeting the Harris County
Sheriff's Department, which runs
the jail.
"It's not the blame, shame game
we are playing," she said. "It's
a systemic issue we need to deal
with."
These civic group members plan
to meet Friday with officials
from the Sheriff's Department,
the Harris County District
Attorney's Office, county
commissioners, several local
judges and others to discuss
ways to solve the problems.
Harris County Commissioner Steve
Radack said the jail is housing
Texas prison inmates who are not
being transferred quickly by the
state. But he also minimized the
concerns of the civic groups.
"We are working under the
standards of the jail
commission. We are concerned
about our operation," he said.
"Some groups believe (the
inmates) should be jailed in the
Taj Mahal. That is not
practical. We didn't send
invitations to anybody in that
jail. I wish there wasn't one
person in that jail."
(Copyright 2005 by The
Associated Press. All Rights
Reserved.)
