Residents and jail staff describe unsafe conditions at 201 Poplar; commissioners discuss hazard pay, new jail funding and oversight

Multiple speakers at the Shelby County Commission meeting described hazardous and unsanitary conditions at the Shelby County jail facility at 201 Poplar and called on the commission to accelerate construction of a new jail and to add hazard pay for corrections and related staff.

Laramie Wheeler, advocacy coordinator at Just City, read a letter from an incarcerated person describing broken sinks and toilets, mold in showers, nonfunctioning smoke detectors, infestations of roaches and mice, limited access to the law library, delayed grievance responses and a lack of proper cleaning supplies. Wheeler cited Tennessee Code Annotated sections 41-4-108 through 41-4-116 and 41-4-111, which set standards for cleanliness, bathing facilities, water and bedding, and said those statutory requirements were not being…