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Residents, advocates urge commissioners not to site new jail in New Chicago as they press for oversight after jail deaths
Summary
Dozens of residents and advocates told the Shelby County Board of Commissioners they oppose a proposed jail near the New Chicago neighborhood and demanded oversight after multiple deaths in county custody, calling for alternatives such as mental‑health and community services.
Dozens of people used the general‑comment portion of the Aug. 11 Shelby County Board of Commissioners meeting to oppose a proposed criminal justice facility in the New Chicago neighborhood and to call for increased oversight of the county jail following recent in‑custody deaths.
"We will fight this development and the developers with all that we have," said Clifford Stockton Jr., a North Memphis Community Alliance representative, pressing the Commission to keep a detention complex out of a historically Black residential area. Other speakers pointed to a previously developed New Chicago revitalization plan, contending the community needs housing, clinics and youth services rather than a jail.
Advocates tied complaints about the proposed site to recent failures inside the county facility. "Raquel McDaniel died because he was not taken to court," said Laramie Wheeler of advocacy group Just City, referencing a case raised repeatedly during public comment and calling the death a result of negligent intake and court access. Mitchell Leander told commissioners that seven people had died this year while awaiting arraignment and said the Commission has authority and responsibility for oversight through budget and policy tools.
Speakers urged the board to pursue alternatives — mental‑health diversion, re‑investment in community services and more robust oversight of the sheriff's office — rather than siting the facility in New Chicago. Several residents said the community had prepared a 175‑page revitalization plan and that a jail would undercut decades of planning and investment.
The Commission did not take immediate action on the specific development proposal during the general‑comment period; members noted the matter will return for later consideration.
