Written by John Cheves of the Herald-Leader
Kentucky’s chief justice is urging state court officials to release jail inmates “as quickly as we can” to avoid potentially calamitous outbreaks of the novel coronavirus behind bars. However, new jail population figures suggest that most officials have been slow to address the crisis, and dozens of local jails remain crammed with far more bodies than beds.
“Kentucky’s overcrowded jails desperately need our attention,” Supreme Court Chief Justice John Minton Jr. said in a message sent Friday to the state’s judges and court clerks. “Much like nursing homes, jails are susceptible to worse-case scenarios due to the close proximity of people and the number of pre-existing conditions.”
Pre-trial defendants who safely can await the outcome of their case at home should do so, Minton said.
In ordinary times, thousands of Kentuckians sit in jail until their criminal cases are concluded because they cannot afford to pay their bond. Delays will be even worse for a while because state courts have postponed trials and most hearings for a month due to the coronavirus, to avoid having crowds in courthouses.
(Cross-posted via the Kentucky Press News Service. Read the rest of the article at the Herald-Leader.)
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