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Residents urge Johnson County to halt new jail plan, call for alternatives and upgrades to existing facility
Summary
Several Iowa City residents and advocates addressed the Johnson County criminal justice coordinating committee on Sept. 11, urging supervisors to pause plans for a new jail, citing public-health risks, the project's price tag, and a preference for investing in housing, mental-health services and jail upgrades instead.
Maureen Soss, a resident of Iowa City, told the Johnson County Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee on Thursday that a new jail would worsen public-health risks and that incarcerated people are already disproportionately vulnerable. “Making a new jail while repaying the same to states will only endanger our community further,” Soss said during public comment.
The comments came during the committee's regular meeting about possible plans for a new public-safety facility and a proposed joint county-city authority. Soss cited the American Public Health Association's 2024 declaration that current incarceration conditions are a public-health crisis and referenced the Eighth Amendment when describing care…
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