A large tent will house up to 32 inmates
outside the Cameron County Jail.
Posted on 08/24/2007 2:28:57 PM PDT by SwinneySwitch
A large tent will house up to 32 inmates outside the Cameron County Jail. A tent city jail built at the Carrizalez-Rucker Detention Center in Olmito failed an inspection Thursday morning.
City of Brownsville building inspectors in conjunction with the Texas Commission on Jail Standards did not allow the outdoor jail to open.
Evaristo Gamez, director of the city’s Building Inspection Department, and Adan Muñoz, Texas Commission on Jail Standards’ executive director, told Sheriff Omar Lucio that before the tent city can open a flexible conduit must cover an exposed electrical wire that runs along the top of the tent through the inside.
“Occupancy of the jail will not be approved,” Muñoz said. “A conduit has to be covered,” referring to the exposed electrical wire.
The Texas Commission on Jail Standards inspected the Olmito jail Wednesday and offered some recommendations, which most were in place by early Thursday.
“Yesterday we found some minor things that needed improvement,” Muñoz said.
Those included, putting up a door for the bathroom to prevent inmates from exposing themselves, setting up smoke detectors inside the tent and a drainage ditch to prevent water from seeping into the tent.
The door and smoke detectors were installed sometime Wednesday afternoon.
Muñoz said his biggest concern was the exposed wire that ran along the top of the tent through the inside, however, he left the final decision to the inspectors from the city.
“If the city says it’s OK, I’m going to take it,” Muñoz said.
However, city inspectors did not give the tent city the green light and asked staff at the Olmito jail to go comply with all recommendations.
“It’s looking great,” Lucio said of the tent city. “I want to thank these people for coming over, they came up with some suggestions, which we will follow.”
Lucio said staff at the jail worked until 9 p.m. Wednesday to comply with the first set of recommendations.
The sheriff said that all new recommendations, including the conduit would be in place by 3 p.m. today.
Muñoz said he would not have to re-inspect the jail, and that pictures of the changes could be e-mailed to him and he would sign off to allow it for occupancy.
Nearly three dozen non-violent inmates, who face misdemeanor charges and also known as trustees, will be housed in the tent city which is equipped with air conditioning, an indoor gazebo to eat and bathrooms.
The tent first went up in December 2006; however, state officials asked Lucio earlier this year to bring it down after they say he failed to ask for permission from the Texas Commission on Jail Standards.
The tent was then re-erected in mid-February after Lucio filed proper paperwork with the state.
For his part Lucio said staff at the jail would do whatever is needed to comply, and have the tent up and running as soon as possible.
A large tent will house up to 32 inmates
outside the Cameron County Jail.
an indoor gazebo to eat and bathrooms.
Rio Grande Valle.
Air conditioning! Sheriff Arrpio would be ashamed of you.
Going to jail there looks like an intense experience.
(C’mon, someone had to say it!)
Well, it's almost as hot and a lot more humid in the Rio Grande Valley than it is in Maricopa County Arizona. Since these are misdemeanor level convicts, we wouldn't want the county to have to pay for an "wrongful deaths" due to heat exhaustion. We also wouldn't want some federal judge shutting it down because of "Cruel and Unusual".
I understand what your saying, but it’s 140% in Iraq and our soldiers and Marines are coping. I would say a fan would be sufficient.
Sheriff Omar ping!
If you want on, or off this S. Texas/Mexico ping list, please FReepMail me.
A fan? I think open sides on the tents would be sufficient. All they have to do is lay in their bunks it it's that hot. Still, I wouldn't want the taxpayers of the county to be footing the bill for one of those "Wrongful death" deals. And as I said, these are guys who committed misdemeanors not felons.
Many jail inmates aren't convicts at all, they are being held while awaiting trial.
Very true, and I thought of that as well, but I initially misread the story to read that they were convicts. However upon looking again, I see they are only accused of misdemeanor offenses. I'd put the convicts out in the tent, or if those being held for trial must be put out there, I'd put those accused of felonies. Those convicted of felonies are generally sent to the state prison system after trial.
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